Psychological Development and Education ›› 2021, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (5): 628-637.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2021.05.03

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Influence of Playmates' Interpersonal Character on Children's Interpersonal Character: The Moderating Role of the Number of Playmates and Child Group Differences

LIU Lisha1,2, WU Yuting2, LI Chaoqun2, XU Liangyuan2, LI Yanfang2   

  1. 1. Center for Teacher Education Research of Beijing Normal University, Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities, MOE, Beijing 100875;
    2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875
  • Published:2021-09-23

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Abstract: Playmates is an important source of influence on children's development. This study aimed to explore the positive associations between playmates' and children's interpersonal character (including humanity and justice) from the perspective of children's positive development. In addition, the moderating role of the number of playmates in the associations and child group differences (i.e., grade, gender, sibling status) were examined. Participates were 1555 fourth-to ninth-graders and their reciprocal playmates. The peer nomination method and a character questionnaire were employed to conduct the investigation. The results showed that:(1) The playmates' and children's humanity as well as justice was significantly associated, regardless of the child grade, gender, and sibling status; (2) The association between playmates' and children's justice was enhanced with the number of playmates increasing, however, this moderating effect displayed only on the secondary school children and boys. These findings suggested that children's associating with playmates who have positive character is significant to their development of positive character. In particular, children of some specific groups (e.g., secondary school children and boys) interacting with more playmates with good character may receive the greater positive influence from playmates.

Key words: playmates, children, interpersonal character, number of playmates, child group difference

CLC Number: 

  • B844
Bandura, A. (Ed.).(1986).Social foundations of thought and action:A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.7 Prentice-Hall.
Benenson, J. F., Apostoleris, N. H., & Parnass, J. (1997). Age and sex differences in dyadic and group interaction. Developmental Psychology, 33, 538-543.
Berthelon, M., Bettinger, E., Kruger, D. I., & Montecinos-Pearce, A. (2019). The structure of peers:The impact of peer networks on academic achievement. Research in Higher Education, 60, 931-959.
Brechwald, W. A., & Prinstein, M. J. (2011). Beyond homophily:A decade of advances in understanding peer influence processes. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 166-179.
Brown, B. B., & Klute, C., (2006). Friendships, cliques, and crowds. In G. R. Adams & M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 330-348). Malden, MA:Blackwell.
Burk, W. J., Van der Vorst, H., Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2012). Alcohol intoxication frequency and friendship dynamics:Selection and socialization in early, middle and late adolescent peer networks. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73, 89-98.
Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2013). Social contagion theory:Examining dynamic social networks and human behavior.Statistics in Medicine, 32(4), 556-577.
Dahlsgaard, K., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2005). Shared virtue:The convergence of valued human strengths across culture and history. Review of General Psychology, 9(3), 203-213.
Falbo, T. (2012). Only Children:An Updated Review.Journal of Individual Psychology, 68(1), 38-49.
Gallupe, O., McLevey, J., & Brown, S. (2019). Selection and influence:A meta-analysis of the association between peer and personal offending. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 35(2), 313-335.
Giletta, M., Scholte, R. H., Prinstein, M. J., Engels, R. C., Rabaglietti, E., & Burk, W. J. (2012). Friendship context matters:Examining the domain specificity of alcohol and depression socialization among adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40(7), 1027-1043.
Gorrese, A., & Ruggieri, R. (2012). Peer attachment:A meta-analytic review of gender and age differences and associations with parent attachment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(5), 650-672.
Hartup, W.W., & Abecassis, M. (2002). Friends and enemies. In P. K. Smith & C. H. Hart (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of childhood social development (pp. 286-306). Malden, MA:Blackwell.
Latané, B. (1981). The psychology of social impact. American Psychologist, 36, 343-356.
Law, B. M.,Shek, D. T., & Ma, C. M. (2013). Validation of family, school, and peer influence on volunteerism scale among adolescents. Research on Social Work Practice, 23(4), 458-466.
Maccoby, E. E. (2002). Gender and group process:A developmental perspective.Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(2), 54-58.
Ngai, S. S. Y. (2015). Parental bonding and character strengths among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 20(3), 317-333.
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2006a).Moral competence and character strengths among adolescents:The development and validation of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth. Journal of Adolescence, 29(6), 891-909.
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2006b). Character strengths and happiness among young children:Content analysis of parental descriptions.Journal of Happiness Studies, 7(3), 323-341.
Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being.Journal of social and Clinical Psychology, 23(5), 603-619.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues:A handbook and classification. Oxford University press.
Poldin, O., Valeeva, D., & Yudkevich, M. (2016). Which peers matter:How social ties affect peer-group effects. Research in Higher Education, 57(4), 448-468.
Prinstein, M. J. (2007). Moderators of peer contagion:A longitudinal examination of depression socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36(2), 159-170.
Scales, P., Benson, P.,Leffert, N., & Blyth, D.A. (2000). The contribution of developmental assets to the prediction of thriving among adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 4(1), 27-46.
Shoshani, A., & Slone, M. (2013). Middle school transition from the strengths perspective:Young adolescents' character strengths, subjective well-being, and school adjustment. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(4), 1163-1181.
Steinberg, L., & Monahan, K. C. (2007). Age differences in resistance to peer influence.Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1531-1543.
VanGoethem, A. A., Van Hoof, A., van Aken, M. A., de Castro, B. O., & Raaijmakers, Q. A. (2014). Socialising adolescent volunteering:How important are parents and friends? Age dependent effects of parents and friends on adolescents' volunteering behaviours. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35(2), 94-101.
Véronneau, M. H., & Vitaro, F. (2007). Social experiences with peers and high school graduation:A review of theoretical and empirical research. Educational Psychology, 27(3), 419-445.
Wentzel, K. R., Barry, C. M., & Caldwell, K. A. (2004). Friendships in middle school:Influences on motivation and school adjustment.Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(2), 195-203.
Zhang, H. Y., Li, X. Y., & Wang, Y. C. (2016). Influence of character strengths on adolescent depressive symptoms and regulatory effect of gender and age.Chinese General Practice, 1(19), 115-118.
方晓义. (1997). 友伴对青少年吸烟和饮酒行为的影响. 心理发展与教育, 13(4), 51-56.
风笑天. (2000). 独生子女青少年的社会化过程及其结果. 中国社会科学, 6, 118-131.
郝玉章, 风笑天. (1997). 中学独生子女社会化的现状——对湖北省五市镇593名中学生的调查分析. 青年研究, 8, 7-15.
游志麒, 张凤娟, 范翠英, 平凡, 周宗奎. (2016). 班级朋友对抑郁的影响:一项社会网络分析. 心理发展与教育, 32(3), 339-348.
张凤娟. (2014). 朋友网络背景中的同伴乐观发展:童年中晚期追踪研究(博士学位论文). 华中师范大学, 武汉.
[1] CHU Yue, LIU Xiping, XU Hui, TANG Weihai. Developmental Characteristics of Socially Shared Retrieval-induced Forgetting in Children [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(2): 153-159.
[2] LIU Yanchun, DENG Yuting, ZHANG Xi. Sharing Behavior towards Different Recipients in Children with Intellectual Disabilities: The Role of Theory of Mind [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(2): 160-168.
[3] LIANG Dandan, YAN Xiaomin, GE Zhilin. The Development of Emotion Recognition Ability in 4~8 Years Old Chinese Children with High-functioning Autism Based on Language Cues [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(2): 169-175.
[4] SHI Mengmeng, REN Guiqin, SUN Junhong, ZHANG Xinxing. Effects of Vocabulary Type and Reading Ability on Reading Comprehension Monitoring in First Grade Pupils [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(2): 207-214.
[5] LENG Xinyi, SU Mengmeng, LI Wenling, YANG Xiujie, XING Ailing, ZHANG Xianglin, SHU Hua. The Relation between Home Environment and Early Language Development in Rural China [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(1): 8-18.
[6] ZHAO Jingwei, CHEN Xiaoxu, REN Liwen, GENG Zhe, XU Fuzhen. Parental Psychological Control and Children’s Anxiety: A Moderated Mediating Model [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2024, 40(1): 93-102.
[7] ZHU Naping, LIU Yanling, XIONG Hongmei, ZHAO Pan. Justice Comes Sooner or Later: The Development Characteristics of Children’s Fair Normative Executive Behavior in Different Resource Allocation Situations [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(6): 772-780.
[8] GAO Zihui, JIAO Yu, WANG Xi, LIU Xiaocen. The Influence of Dynamic and Static Text Presentation of Electronic Picture Books on Children’s Reading Experience and Learning Effect [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(6): 817-824.
[9] REN Liwen, MA Yuanchi, ZHANG Qingyao, ZHANG Lingling, XU Fuzhen. Reciprocal Relations between Parental Psychological Control and Children's School Adjustment: A Cross-lagged Analysis [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(5): 635-644.
[10] WANG Yingjie, LUAN Jinxin, LI Yan. The Relationship between Maternal Parenting Stress and Preschool Children's Anxiety: The Mediating Effect of Mother-child Conflict and the Moderating Effect of Maternal Mindfulness [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(5): 702-709.
[11] LI Tiantian, DONG Huiqin. Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict and Anxiety: The Mediating Effect of Attention to Positive and Negative Information and the Moderating Effect of Gender [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(4): 488-496.
[12] YIN Xiaolan, ZHOU Lujun, ZHU Cuiying. The Effect of School Environment on the Rural Left-behind Children's Prosocial Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital and Life Satisfaction [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(4): 497-504.
[13] JIN Xing, LIU Jinghong, MA Yue, YU Zhanyu. A Comparative Study on the Attentional Blink of Body Expression between Deaf and Normal Children [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(3): 305-312.
[14] ZHAO Xian, WANG Zhihang, WANG Dongfang, YUAN Yanyun, YIN Xiayun, LI Zhihua. Developmental Trajectory of Prosocial Behavior in Impoverished Children during Early Adolescence: The Effects of Gender and Parenting Style Heterogeneity [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(3): 323-332.
[15] LIU Shuang, LI Mei, FENG Xiaohang, ZHANG Xiangkui. A Longitudinal Study of Mastery Motivation and Competence in Early Childhood: The Moderating Effects of Types of Task and Temperament [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2023, 39(2): 161-172.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited
  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!
Copyright 2018 © Editorial office of Psychological Development and Education
Supported by Beijing Magtech Co.Ltd