Peers

1
Peers
2
Positives of peers

• Feedback, social comparisons
• Learning perspective taking
• Learning about fairness justice

3
Negatives of peers

• Rejection
• Teasing
• Bullying

4
Peer status categories

• Sociogram technique
• Popularhi positive, lo negative nominations
• Rejectedhi negative, lo positive nom.
• Neglectedlo positive, lo negative
• Controversialhi positive, hi negative

5
Causes of categories

• Populargood parenting (taught good social
  skills, arranged good playmates) SES, other
  factors??
• Rejectedcritical parents, hostility in home,
  poor social skills modeling teaching in home,
  other factors??

6

• Neglectedoften shy
• Controversialnot studied as much

7
Outcomes of peer status

• Bestpopular (no surprise)
• Worstrejected (often were bullies, though not
  always) primed for juvenile delinquency
• Others intermediate

8
Bullying

• Psychological, emotional, social, or physical
  harassment
• Often have high, but fragile self-esteem and can
  be violent when it is threatened
• Tend to be mesomorphs (ones who will win fights)
• Tendency to pick on easy targets (whipping
  boys)

9

• Most common form verbal (teasing, name
  calling)has most long-lasting impact
• Boysmore physical bullying than girls more
  often physical victims than girls
• Girlsprefer exclusion nasty gossip. Girls
  experience more verbal, emotional, social
  bullying

10

• Boys bully both boys girls girls mainly bully
  girls
• Bullies bred in homes where parents are
  inconsistent and abusive
• Target childrenvarious reasons overprotected,
  nonassertive, never had to develop defenses, life
  stressors

11
Damage to target

• Girls become sad, boys become mad
• Poor self esteem, physical health problems,
  anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD, shyness,
  social isolation, social phobia
• Later in life choice of partner, career, social
  life, mental health can be affected problems in
  intimate relationships at work, where they may
  still be bullied

12
Damage to bully

• Downwardly spiraling course for rest of lives
• Trouble with learning, friendships, work,
  intimate relationships, income, mental health
• Tend to be antisocial as adults
• Male bullies tend to be wife child abusers
• Tend to have criminal record by age 30

13
(damage to bullies)

• Tend to create another generation of bullies
• Often aggressive and disruptive at work
• Put burden on health welfare system
• In general, tend to be losers in a big way, and
  society pays a price also