830:331:01 Infant and Child Development
Spring 2003, Hudson
Effects of Peers and Siblings
I. Peer Relations: That’s What Friends Are For

A. Harry Stack Sullivan
 
 

1. Parent-child interaction 2. Peer-peer interaction
Children usually seek each other out for companionship, affection and common amusement. Whereas children and adults normally establish relations based on a child's need for protection, care and instruction.(Damon,1983)


B. Consequences of Complementary and Reciprocal Relationships

1. Children learn different interpersonal skills

2. Affection for parent and peers is different

Parents

 
 
Peers


Sullivan:


C. How Important Are Peer Relations?

1. Can peer interaction compensate for lack of parental attachment?
a. Harlow studies of rhesus monkeys
 
 
 

b. Freud and Dann's (1972) study of children liberated from concentration camp

D.Measuring peer acceptance:
 
1. Categories (66%)
popular:
 

controversial:
 

neglected:
 

rejected:
 

2. 2 categories of rejected children
aggressive

withdrawn

2. Rejected children fare worse than neglected children
E. What contributes to popularity?
1. Facial attractiveness
 

2. Social behavior
 
 
 

3. Names
 

4. Ordinal position (birth order)
 

5. Cognitive skills

F.  Why do rejected children develop serious adjustment problems?
1. Rejection may not cause maladjustment

2. Maladaptive experiences at home lead to poor peer rejections and later adjustment problems.

Children from punitive homes display:

Aggressive behavior leads to:

Disruptive behavior also leads to:

Rejected children form_______________________________that lead to ______________________


II. Role of Siblings in Development

Combines complementary and reciprocal roles
Is notion of "sibling rivalry" supported by research?
 

A. Kinds of sibling interactions:

Evidence for:
 
 
 
B. Do children become attached to siblings?
Stewart (1983):
Examined infants' (10-20 months) reaction to strange situation with sibling (2.5-6 years) present
Results:
 
 
C. What factors encourage sibling cooperation?
Minnett, Vandell, & Santrock (1983)

1. Observed 7-8 year olds interacting with younger siblings in 3 situations:

a.

b.

c.
 

2. Sibling factors:
a.

b.

c.

Results
a. First borns more likely to:
 

b. Aggression more common in:
 

c. More competition found in:

2. Other factors influencing sibling interactions:
III. Parents Vs. Peers: Do Parents Matter? (Note: This section may be presented on May 2 instead of April 22.)

No --  Judith Rich Harris (1995): Group Socialization (GS) Theory of Development

A. Arguments:

1. Family environment does not affect  development
 
 

2. Socialization is context-specific form of learning
 
 

3. Behavior in groups is different from behavior between dyads; Peer groups socialize children in urbanized societies
 
 

4. Absence of peers:
 

5. Styles of parenting (Baumrind) :
 

6. Effects of divorce due to:
 

"... experiences in childhood and adolescent peer groups, not experiences at home, account for environmental influences on personality development."

B. Parents DO matter: Counter-Arguments
 
1. Patterson et al.:
 

2. Parents control access to peer groups.
 

3. Is there evidence that peer groups do not embrace larger values of society (including parents)?
 

4. Harris’ research review is selective:
 
 
 

5. Effects may be bi-directional, but parents still have an effect.
 

6. Intervention research indicates that changes in parents’ behavior affects child outcomes
 
 
 

C. What we can learn from Harris
1.Many important effects are bi-directional and mediated