Social Status in Small Groups: Individual-Group Similarity and the Social “Misfit”

352 Words2 Pages
This article states that social status is not just an individual status but also a group status. Using personality features or traits researchers try to predict social status in a child’s peer group. Behavioral actions that benefit other people are needed for high social status. Helping, sharing and actions that benefit society as a whole it is predicted to be correlated with status across peer groups. Authors believed the level of aggression is believed to be accepted depending on similarity between individuals and peer groups. For a child to have positive emotional and social development they need positive peer relations. Popular children are less likely to be withdrawn. The study took place at Wediko Children’s Services’ summer program for children. The children that were attending camp were placed in living groups. The observers, 137 staff members, watched over kids that were referred to Wediko for variety of different behavior and social problems. Different tactics used by observers to access the children were: “Peer Inventory, Study 2, nomination procedure, Adult assessments.” Peer inventory was used to rate each child’s popularity. Study 2 was used to see child’s perception of himself and behavior shown by children such as aggression, withdrawal and prosocial. Nomination procedure was an test children were given to show what they really thought of others, the children went into the test knowing that no other children would find out their answers. The final test was the adult assessments this was where the staff worked closely with children accessing children’s behavior on a weekly basis. The results found in this study were there were 3 clusters of kids: 1- Aggressive: is means, bossy, show off, angry, gets others in troubles. 2-Withdrawn: sad, afraid, left behind, sits alone, does not defend himself. 3-Prosocial: helpful, listens, honest. The

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