"I'm OK but you're not" and other peer-relational schemas: Explaining individual differences in children's social goals

: Salmivalli C, Ojanen T, Haanpaa J, Peets K

Publisher: AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC

: 2005

Developmental Psychology

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

: DEV PSYCHOL

: 41

: 2

: 363

: 375

: 13

: 0012-1649

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.2.363

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.