Differences Between Non-Aggressive, Rejected Children and Popular Children During Peer Collaboration

• Published in: Child & family behavior therapy Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 1 - 19
• Main Authors: Crosby, Kimberly A., Fireman, Gary D., Clopton, James R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Colchester Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2011; Routledge; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aggressiveness; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Children; Children & youth; children's communication; Communication; Cooperation; Cooperative Planning; Developmental psychology; Elementary School Students; Emotional Experience; Emotional Response; Empowerment; Females; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender Differences; Grade 5; Grade 6; Interaction; Interpersonal Communication; Interpersonal Competence; Interviews; Likert Scales; Males; Peer Acceptance; Peer Relationship; Peer relationships; peer-collaboration; peer-nomination; peer-rejection; Peers; popular children; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rejection (Psychology); Self Efficacy; Sex; Social Goals; Social interaction; Social interactions. Communication. Group processes; Social psychology; Social Status; Texas; Texas; Human; Affect affectivity; popular children; Peer relation; peer-nomination; peer-rejection; Social rejection; Sex; Emotion emotionality; Social status; children's communication; peer-collaboration; Social interaction; Cooperation; Bargaining; Self efficacy; Strategy; Anxiety; Self esteem; Child; Comparative study; Aggressiveness; Communication
• ISSN: 0731-7107; 1545-228X
• DOI: 10.1080/07317107.2011.545005

This study examined the communication of non-aggressive, rejected (NAR) children and popular children during peer interaction. The participants were 80 fifth and sixth graders recruited from a larger sociometric sample (40 boys and 40 girls; 20 NAR children and 60 non-aggressive, popular children). Participants were assigned to 40 same-gender dyads: 20 NAR-Popular dyads and 20 Popular-Popular dyads, and each dyad was asked to collaborate on a social reasoning task. Results showed that when placed in a collaborative context with a popular peer, NAR children displayed a distinct pattern of social goals and self-efficacy, self-focused and disruptive patterns of communication, and emotional responses to the collaborative interaction. Differences between boys and girls were found for communication patterns, and a social status and gender interaction was found for emotional experience.