hildhood and adolescen

s
e dominance hierarchy.

aders have high self-esteem, good relationships y

intimidating child (Hawley, 1999).

leaders most often are the children with

the greatest camping experience. Among
Girl Scouts, girls chosen to be
patrol leaders tend to be bright and
goal oriented and to have new
ideas (Edwards, 1994). These
characteristics are appropriate
because the primary function of
patrols is to help plan activities
for the entire became leaders had
good ideas and were outgoing (Li et
al., 2007). Thus, leader- troop.
Similarly, in a study of
classroom discussion groups,
the children who 5 based on key
skills is effective because it gives the
greatest influence to those with the skills
most important to group functioning.
ship

Peer Pressure Groups establish

norms-standards of behavior that apply
to all group members and groups may
pressure members to conform to these
norms. Such "peer pressure" is often
characterized as an irresistible, harmful
force. The stereotype is that teenagers
exert enormous pressure on each other to
behave antisocially. In reality, peer pressure is
neither all-powerful nor always evil. For
example, most adolescents resist peer pressure
to behave in ways that are clearly antisocial,
such as stealing (Cook, Buehler, & Henson,
2009), and such resistance increases from mid-
to late adolescence (Steinberg & Monahan,
2007). Peer pres- sure can be positive, too. Peers
often urge one another to work hard in school; to
participate in school activities, such as trying out
for a play or working on the
yearbook;
or to become involved in community action projects, such as Habitat
for Humanity (Kindermann, 2007; Molloy, Gest, &
Rulison, 2011).
nt feature of social life. Two escence. A clique consists
of nsequently, tend to be sim e spend time together
and a larger group, too. A c escents who have similar bel. Maybe you
remember cks,preppies, burnouts, we efer to crowds of older ch
ty youth typically belong ds instead (Brown et al. For
example, students in are the most prestigious a gious. Self-esteem in
older their crowd. During the have greater self-esteem 07). Finally, youth
in crowd -s, are less prone to psyc Crowds that don't support hile others join
the bu sly. Brighter students whe thletically talented teens be Adolescents' crowds
also cative parenting-they a with crowds that endors ks, brains). But, when p less
likely to identify wit ke druggies that dis can, Asian American E
eir parents (Brown et al
Of course, peer influence is common throughout the life
span. As we saw in Module 1.1, children and adults often
imitate their peers' behavior, particularly when the peer has
high status and the behavior is rewarded. But adolescents
may be particularly susceptible to peer influence because
they are forging an identity (Module 11.1) and matching the
behavior of a valued peer group may help to fos ter that identity. If
Jordan sees that popular kids smoke and part of her emerging identity is
that she's in the popular group, she may start smoking too (Brechwald &
Prinstein, 2011).
Peer pressure is not all-powerful. Instead, peer influence is stronger when (1) youth
are younger and more socially anxious; (2) peers are high-status friends, and
(3) standards for appropriate behavior are not clear-cut, as in the case of tastes in music or
clothing or standards for smoking and drinking (Allen et al., 2012; Brechwald & Prinstein,
2011). Thus, when 14-year-old Doug's best friend (who's one of the most popular kids in
school) gets his hair cut like Justin Beiber, Doug may go along because he's young,
the peer is popular and his friend, and there are no fixed standards for hair style. But
barely knows suggests to her
when an unpopular kid that 18-year-old Kelly
that they go to the mall and shoplift some ear- rings, Kelly will resist
because she's older, the peer is unpopular and not a friend, and norms
for shoplifting are clear.
Chapter 15⚫ Influences Beyond the Family

Popularity and Rejection

LOS Why are some children more popular than others? What are the
causes and consequences of being rejected?

play with her and sit near her

at lunch or on the school bus.
In contrast, Jay is the Eileen is
 definitely the most popular child
in her class. Her peers always
want to least popular child in the
class. When he tries to join a
game of four square, the others quit.
Students in the class dislike Jay as much as
they like Eileen. room
and
neighborhood. In fact, studies of
popularity (Hymel et al., 2004)
reveal Popular and rejected
children like Eileen and Jay can
•
be found in every class
that most children can be placed in one of five categories:
Popular children are liked by many classmates.
Rejected children are disliked by many classmates.
As for rejec Aed, and more hos Sa 277 end and other e tein &
d and n
ker 2009
Consequenc
et rejection
me and d Repea
nyoung
fenses, an
b
• Controversial children are both liked and disliked by
classmates.
• Average children are liked and disliked by some
classmates but without the
intensity found for popular, rejected, or controversial children.
Neglected children are ignored by classmates.
Of these categories, we know most about popular and
rejected children. Each of these categories actually
includes two subtypes. Most popular children are skilled
academically and socially. They are good students
who are usually friendly, cooperative, and helpful. They
are more skillful at communicating and regulating
themselves as well as being better at integrating
themselves into an ongoing conversation or play
session; they "fit in" instead of "barging in" (Graziano,
Keane, & Calkins, 2007; Kam et al., 2011; Véronneau et al., 2010), A smaller
group of popular youth includes physically aggressive boys who pick fights with
peers and relationally aggressive girls who, like the "Plastics" in the film Mean Girls, thrive on
manipulating social relationships. Although these youth
are not particularly
friendly, their antisocial behavior nevertheless garners respect from peers
(Kuryluk, Cohen, & Audley-Piotrowski, 2011; Xie et al., 2006) Are these avenues to
popularity specific to US children, or do they apply more generally? The "Cultural Influences"
feature has the answer.
Causes of
ence (T
operativ
rent an
when par
photo-w
umpers
ling run
Paren
larity. I goning behavior
is fed to
the proc
In s
which i
youngs
We can would types
Cultural Influences
Keys to Popularity
In the United States, popular children seem to know how to get along with others. These results
don't apply just to US children; they hold for children in many cultures around the world, including
Canada, European countries, Israel, and China (e.g., Casiglia, Coco, & Zappulla, 1998;
Chung-Hall & Chen, 2010). However, sometimes popular children have other
characteristics that are unique to their cultural set- ting. In Israel, for example, popular
children are more likely to be direct and assertive than in other countries (Krispin, Sternberg, &
Lamb, 1992). In China, historically shy children were often popular
social maturity. However, economic reforms in China in
because their restrained behavior was taken as a sign of
the past 25 years have resulted in greater emphasis on taking initiative and being
assertive. Consequently, shy children living in urban areas that have experienced
economic reform are now rejected by peers but they remain popular in more
traditional rural areas (Chen, Wang, & Cao, 2011). Evidently, good social skills are
at the core of popularity in most countries, but other features may also be important.
reflecting culturally specific values that may change
over time.
that p ing fo
Train
acce
We
eing rejected?

unskilled, and unable to regulate

their emotions. These children are
usually As for rejected children,
many are overly aggressive,
hyperactive, socially much
more hostile than popular
 aggressive children and
seem to view aggres- toward
other ends-which peers may
not actually like but grudgingly
respect sion as an end-which
peers dislike-instead of
using aggression as a
means (Prinstein & Cillessen,
2003). Other rejected children
are shy, withdrawn, timid, and,
not surprisingly, lonely (Coplan et
al., 2013; Rubin, Coplan, &
child in her class. Her peers always want to h
or on the school bus. In contrast, Jay is the n
he tries to join a game of four square, ke Jay as much as they like

Eileen. Eileen and Jay can be found in every clas ies

of popularity (Hymel et al., 2004)
reveal
e of five categories: my classmates.
many classmates.
ked and disliked by classmates.

sliked by some classmates but without the

ed, or controversial children.
classmates.
Bowker, 2009).

Consequences of Rejection
No one enjoys being rejected.
Not surprisingly,
Peers⚫ Module 15

lonely and disliking school (Ladd,

Herald-Brown, & Reiser, 2008;
Sturaro et al., 2011). Repeated
peer rejection in childhood can also
have serious long-term con-
sequences (Ladd, 2006; Rubin et al.,
2009). Rejected youngsters are more
likely than youngsters in the other
categories to drop out of school,
commit juvenile offenses, and suffer
from psychopathology.
Causes of Rejection Peer rejection can
be traced, at least in part, to parental
influence (Ladd, 1998). Children see how
their parents respond to different social
situations and often imitate these responses
later. Parents who are friendly and
cooperative with others demonstrate
effective social skills. Parents who are bel-
ligerent and combative demonstrate much
less effective social skills. In particular, when
parents typically respond to interpersonal
conflict like the couple in the hampers their
development of social skills and makes them
less popular in the long run (Keane, Brown, & Crenshaw,
1990).
ost about popular and rejected children des two subtypes.
Most popular childre They are good students who
are usually hey are more skillful at communicating
being better at integrating themselves in ion; they "fit
in" instead of "barging in am et al., 2011; Véronneau et
al., 2010), A des physically aggressive boys who pid
gressive girls who, like the "Plastics in ating social
relationships. Although these ir antisocial behavior
nevertheless games -pecific to US children, or do they
apply
Audley-Piotrowski, 2011; Xie et al, 200
es" feature has the answer.
Parents' disciplinary practices also affect their children's
social skill and pop- ularity. Inconsistent discipline-
punishing a child for misbehaving one day and the same
behavior the next-is associated with antisocial and aggressive behavior,
paving
the way to rejection (Dishion, 1990). Consistent punishment that is
tied to parental love and affection is more likely to promote social skill and,
in the process, popularity (Dekovic & Janssens, 1992).
ignoring
In sum, parenting can lead to an aggressive interpersonal style in a child, which in turn
leads to peer rejection. The implication, then, is that by teaching youngsters (and their
parents) more effective ways of interacting with others, we can make rejection less likely.
With improved social skills, rejected children. would not need to resort to antisocial behaviors. Rejected
of unpopular children) can be taught how to initiate interaction, com-
children (and other types
municate clearly, and be friendly. They can also be discouraged from behaviors that peers
dislike, such as whining and fighting. This training is similar to train- ing for
aggressive adolescents, who are typically unpopular (see Module 12.4).
Training of this sort does work. Rejected children can learn skills
that lead to peer acceptance and thereby avoid the long-term harm
associated with being rejected (LaGreca, 1993; Mize & Ladd, 1990).
eir restrained behavior was taken as a sig maturity. However, economic reforms in e past 25
years have resulted in greater en taking initiative and being asserte tly, shy
children living in urban areas to enced economic reform are now rejected they
remain popular in more tradition (Chen, Wang, & Cao, 2011).
Evident skills are at the core of popularity in ut other features may
also be important lturally specific values that may chang
Throughout this module, we've seen that peers affect
children's development many ways-for example,
through different forms of play, through friend- we'll
look at important nonsocial influences
on children's development, starting ships,
and through participation in social groups.
Beginning in the next module, with media
such as television and computers.
in
Many rejected children aggressive, and some l
of interaction from wat parents in conflict.