The social worlds of childhood.

Discusses both intrasystem dynamics in the socialization of the child and intersystem dependencies. Childhood socialization occurs in the form of reciprocal causalities within conjunctive social systems. The parent–child system, especially mother–child relations, produces an affective and instrumental base from which the young child can explore the wider social world without undue stress. Exploration brings the child into contact with other children and results in the acquisition of unique attitudes and affects. In addition, parents "manage" the social lives of their children directly, thereby extending the child's contacts with other children. In these ways, the family system is linked conjunctively to peer relations in the growth of the social competence. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two worlds of psychological phenomena.

Argues that the discipline of psychology is composed of subfields studying different sets of phenomena. Characterizations of persons form one major world of psychological phenomena; behaviors make up another. These worlds are differentiated in many ways: according to whether meanings are assigned a priori or a posteriori, whether the unit of observation is extended in time or is brief and momentary, whether the individual observer contributes to the observation or observers are essentially interchangeable. The validity problems that plague research on characteristics of persons are minimized or avoided in studies of behaviors. Although psychologists have developed a technology that contributes to the quality of evaluative judgments made about persons in everyday living, a science for characterizations of persons seems improbable. Much more likely is the development of one or more sciences for the phenomena of behavior, especially of actions in the context of other actions. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who attains social status? Effects of personality and physical attractiveness in social groups.

One of the most important goals and outcomes of social life is to attain status in the groups to which we belong. Such face-to-face status is defined by the amount of respect, influence, and prominence each member enjoys in the eyes of the others. Three studies investigated personological determinants of status in social groups (fraternity, sorority, and dormitory), relating the Big Five personality traits and physical attractiveness to peer ratings of status. High Extraversion substantially predicted elevated status for both sexes. High Neuroticism, incompatible with male gender norms, predicted lower status in men. None of the other Big Five traits predicted status. These effects were independent of attractiveness, which predicted higher status only in men. Contrary to previous claims, women's status ordering was just as stable as men's but emerged later. Discussion focuses on personological pathways to attaining status and on potential mediators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emergence of social dominance in young boys' play groups: Developmental differences and behavior correlates.

This study examined relations among dominance, sociometric preference, and social behavior in groups of 1st- and 3rd-grade boys. 20 groups of 6 unacquainted boys met for 5 45-min semistructured play sessions on consecutive days. Sociometric interviews yielded daily social preference scores. Boys' social behaviors were coded from video records into discrete categories. Dominance hierarchies were formed on the basis of asymmetry (receiving vs initiating) of peer-directed aggression or persuasion attempts. Group-level results indicated that the least coherently organized groups were those containing younger boys and those in which aggression occurred at a high rate. Individual-level results indicated that dominance was associated with social preference to a greater degree among younger than older boys. Dominance was more highly related to leadership in older than younger boys. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the role of aggression in the social organization of boys' peer groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergroup perception in naturally occurring groups of differential status: A social relations perspective.

This study investigated intergroup perception in well-acquainted groups. Also of interest were the effects of a naturally occurring status differential on these perceptions. The study is framed within the social relations model, which provided a measure of in-group bias as well as 3 innovative measures of out-group homogeneity. Results indicated that low-status groups consistently displayed out-group favoritism. High-status groups displayed in-group bias, but only on ratings of leadership ability. The results also provided consistent evidence of out-group homogeneity. In instances when group status moderated out-group homogeneity effects, members of the high-status groups perceived their in-group as more variable than the out-group, whereas members of the low-status groups tended to see the in-group and out-group as equally variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression in adolescent peer groups: Links with academic performance and school attendance.

This article reports a short-term longitudinal study focusing on popularity and social acceptance as predictors of academic engagement for a sample of 342 adolescents (approximate average age of 14). These youths were followed for 4 consecutive semesters. Popularity, social acceptance, and aggression were assessed with a peer nomination inventory, and data on academic engagement were obtained from school records. For adolescents who were highly aggressive, increases in popularity were associated with increases in unexplained absences and decreases in grade point average. Conversely, changes in social acceptance were not predictive of changes in grade point average or unexplained absences. These results highlight the importance of multidimensional conceptualizations of social standing for research on school adjustment during adolescence and emphasize the potential risks associated with popularity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual-group behavioral similarity and peer status in experimental play groups of boys: The social misfit revisited.

This study evaluated individual–group similarity and dissimilarity hypotheses generally stipulating that the behavioral correlates of status are moderated by the peer group context in which they are displayed. Thirty play groups of 5 or 6 unacquainted same-age boys participated in five 45-min sessions. Five behaviors described group and individual characteristics: reactive aggression, proactive aggression, solitary play, rough-and-tumble play, and positive interactive behavior. Individual social preference scores were computed following a variant of the J. D. Coie and K. A. Dodge (1983) procedure. The behavioral correlates of emerging peer status were examined as a function of the group's behavioral norms. Evidence of a dissimilarity effect was found for solitary play and reactive aggression whereas positive interactive behavior followed a rule of similarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and social influence: Does sex function as a status characteristic in mixed-sex groups of children?

168 White 4th and 5th graders were assigned to 4-person teams, each consisting of 2 boys and 2 girls, of unfamiliar peers matched on grade, height, socioeconomic class, and field independence. Teams were randomly assigned to expectation training or control conditions and, on the basis of their team's assignment, Ss received 1 of the 2 treatments. Following the treatment condition, team members were brought together for the first time to play a cooperative board game. Group interaction was videotaped and subsequently coded; Ss were interviewed individually following the game. Analyses of control team data showed that, with regard to S perceptions, sex functioned as a status characteristic with girls who were perceived as less competent and less leaderlike than boys; these perceptions were not supported by sex differences in behavior. The experimental treatment, which did not change Ss' behavior, improved peer perceptions of girls relative to boys. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of perceived ability and grade status on social interaction and influence in cooperative groups.

In this study we investigated how a natural status characteristic (grade level) and an experimentally induced status characteristic (ability) combine to affect group interaction and interpersonal perception in homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. Eighty male fifth and sixth graders were randomly assigned to groups of four that were made into homogeneous or heterogeneous "ability" groups on the basis of a bogus aptitude test. Their social interaction was videotaped as groups worked on a group consensus task. The data indicated that the two status characteristics (actual and induced) had a similar and significant effect on the social interaction in the groups. High-status students dominated group interaction, were more influential, and were more likely to be perceived as leaders. The data also indicated that differences in helping behavior may be due, in part, to the perceived status of the student and not only to the student's ability to give help. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention structure, sociometric status, and dominance: Interrelations, behavioral correlates, and relationships to social competence.

To evaluate the interrelationships and external correlates of 3 potential measures of social competence (SC), a preschool class of 22 4-yr-olds was observed during free play throughout 1 school year. Ranks based on distribution of visual regard among peers, sociometric scores, and competitive dominance interactions were derived from data collected during each term. In addition, observations of play behavior and of aggression were collected throughout the year. Attention rank and sociometric scores were highly correlated and were substantially stable across terms. Dominance was not strongly related to attention rank or to sociometric scores and was less stable across time. The stability of the play and aggression data varied from category to category as did relationships between these categories and the status measures. Evidence demonstrates that attention rank is related to SC and is not a function of disruptive behavior, activity level, or proximity to adults. A relationship was also found between visual regard among peers and the social structure of the preschool play group. It is suggested that SC, broadly conceived, is a more salient basis for social organization among preschool peers than either the distribution of attention per se or competition/dominance relationships. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social status in small groups: Individual–group similarity and the social "misfit."

Proposes that social status is a function of both individual and group characteristics and argues that 2 factors are necessary to predict peer popularity—prosocial interaction and person–group similarity. Prosocial behavior, viewed as a prerequisite for high social status, was predicted to be consistently correlated with status across peer groups. The relation between status and other social behaviors such as aggression was predicted to be mediated by the degree of similarity between the individual and the peer group. Two studies were conducted with 217 males (mean age 10 yrs) at a summer program for children with behavioral and social problems. Data from both acceptance and rejection measures of status support the proposed model. This evidence helps to integrate discrepant findings in the sociometric literature and demonstrates the utility of social psychological theories of interpersonal attraction in the study of peer status. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of social conformity.

A group of 89 female social welfare case workers were administered the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey and a social conformity scale developed by the author. The latter comprised 37 items utilizing the direction of perception technique of attitude measurement. For the selected sample, the relationship between the two scales appeared to be limited to a correlation of -.47 between the social conformity scale and the Objectivity scale of the GZ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Malignant melanoma: social status and outdoor work

The incidence of, and mortality from, malignant melanoma of skin in whites are strongly influenced by socio-economic conditions. Professional and administrative workers have the highest rates of all. Clerks and salesmen have higher rates than skilled manual workers, who have higher rates than unskilled workers. Women, when classified by the occupation of their husbands, show a similar relationship to social status. The biases of incidence data from systems of cancer registration, and mortality data from death certificates are different, and the consistency of the data from different periods and from different populations suggests that the relationship is real. The bulk of the data is from Britain, but there is sufficient from the U.S. to indicate that the effect is not restricted to one country. No consistent increase in risk was found in outdoor workers compared with indoor workers of similar socio-economic status.     

The influence of social environment and social image on adolescent smoking.

This purpose of this article is to explore differences by gender and school grade in patterns of association among social influences and tobacco use. Data from the 1999 (N = 15,038) and 2000 (N 35,828) National Youth Tobacco Survey (American Legacy Foundation, 1999, 2000), a nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey, were used in the analysis. The authors compared effects on adolescent smoking. Direct paths from social environment to current smoking increased from middle school to high school. Indirect paths with social image mediating this relationship revealed a smaller increase. The pattern was constant across subsamples. Social image of smokers mediated the influence of social environment on adolescent smoking. Social image had a greater effect on smoking among middle school boys and high school girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI correlates of social and physical anhedonia.

The construct validity of scales measuring social and physical anhedonia (L. J. Chapman et al, 1976) was investigated by performing simple and canonical correlation analyses of clinical, content, and pure scales from the MMPI. Ss were 243 consecutively admitted male veterans (mean age 31.87 yrs) in an inpatient drug dependence treatment program. Results support predictions that anhedonia, defined as a deficiency in the ability to experience pleasure, would be associated with social maladjustment and confused thinking and, further, that anhedonia scales would measure personality characteristics other than depression. Social anhedonia and physical anhedonia were associated with the clinical scales Validity and Social Introversion, the content scales Social Maladjustment and Psychoticism, and Pure Scale 7, which measures characteristics associated with the 278 MMPI profile type and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2nd edition) equivalents of "schizophrenia, latent type." Degree of association was stronger for scales measuring social anhedonia, contrary to the test authors' speculations that the measure of physical anhedonia would be the more promising of the 2 scales. The construct validity of personality assessment suggested that further study is warranted, particularly to determine other aspects of everyday living that may be implicated in measures of social and physical anhedonia. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Older women: social cognitive theory correlates of health behavior

Most research about health promoting behaviors has focused on pre-old adults and men, despite clear evidence that the leading cause of death among postmenopausal women is related to health behaviors. This study applied social cognitive theory constructs to exercise, dietary, and stress management health behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of self-efficacy expectation and outcome expectancy to predict health behavior among older women. Community-dwelling women aged 65 to 92 years were interviewed with previously developed instruments and instruments designed specifically for this study (N = 225). Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of each of the health behaviors (beta weights: dietary behavior .50; exercise, .39; stress management, .32). Outcome expectancy was not a significant predictor of exercise or dietary behavior. Outcome expectancy was a significant predictor of stress management behavior. The findings of this study, combined with the importance of health promotion behaviors among older women, justify the need for continued research about self-efficacy and health behavior among this vulnerable population.     

A cross-cultural study of family and peer correlates of adolescent misconduct

Participants were 4 groups of early adolescents from middle-class backgrounds (European and Chinese Americans in southern California and Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan, and Beijing, China). The 591 adolescents (M age = 13.8 years) completed questionnaires about their involvement in misconduct and about family and peer characteristics. Mothers of a subsample of adolescents (n = 405) also completed a questionnaire about their relationships with their adolescents. The 4 groups of adolescents reported significantly different mean levels of family and peer correlates but showed strikingly similar levels and patterns of self-reported misconduct. Structural equation models revealed that 2 latent variables (family relationships and peer sanctions) accounted for more variance in misconduct among European and Chinese American adolescents (51%-62%) than among the 2 Chinese groups (15%-24%), mainly because of a greater contribution of peer factors in the former groups.     

Psychosocial correlates of chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescent girls

Behavior problems and family functioning were investigated in a sample of 10 adolescent girls with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), 10 matched healthy adolescent girls, and 10 adolescents with childhood cancer in remission. Based on the adolescent girls' reports, the CFS group had significantly higher scores than the cancer and healthy comparison adolescent girls on somatic complaints and also significantly higher scores than the cancer controls on internalizing symptoms and depression. Parent reports resulted in significantly higher scores in the CFS group than the adolescent girls from the healthy comparison groups on internalizing scores and somatic complaints. There were no significant differences on any family variables.     

Biographical correlates of artistic and literary creativity in adolescent girls.

Developed and cross-validated biographical keys in 400 high school girls, subdivided into creative and matched control groups on art and writing. Creative Ss were selected principally through teachers' nominations supported by creative products. Cross-validation yielded criterion correlations of .34 and .55 for art and writing keys (each p