"I'm OK but you're not" and other peer-relational schemas: explaining individual differences in children's social goals.
This study examined the links among 5th and 6th graders' (279 girls and 310 boys) self- and peer perceptions, social goals, and social behavior. Social goals mediated the effects of self- and peer perceptions on 3 types of behavior: proactive aggression, prosocial behavior, and withdrawal. In addition to their main effects (self-perception predicting variance in agentic goals, peer perception being related to communal goals), self- and peer perception interacted in influencing social goals; for instance, the effects of a positive view of oneself were different in the contexts of a positive versus a negative perception of peers. It is suggested that in order to predict children's social behavior more accurately, researchers should investigate children's dual perceptions of themselves and of their peers--that is, their peer-relational schemas--instead of assessing self-perception and peer perception in isolation from each other.
Salmivalli
Christina
C
Department of Psychology, University of Turku, FIN-20014, Turku, Finland. tiina.salmivalli@utu.fi
Ojanen
Tiina
T
Haanpää
Jemina
J
Peets
Kätlin
K
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires