Social Cognition about Peer Status in - PowerPoint Presentation

Social Cognition about Peer Status in Adolescence Dr. Yan Li Department of Psychology DePaul University

Peer Relations Peer status Relational aggression (RA) Social cognition about RA Cultural variationsSocial cognition about peer statusSocial status goalsSocial status insecurityPopularity determinants Familial Socialization Socialization goals and parenting stylesMarital conflict and parenting behaviorsSpillover effectsEmotional security theory Cultural values and socialization RESEARCH INTERESTS

Social status of adolescents Peer status is an important aspect of adolescents’ social life Social Preference LikeabilityMore prosocial behaviors, academic competence, sociability Less aggression Popularity Social prestige, social power, social visibility More socially central, prosocial behaviorMore relational aggression, but not overt aggression ( Andreou , 2006 ; Cillessen & Mayeux , 2004; Coie , Dodge, & Kupersmidt , 1990; Parkhurst & Asher, 1992; Rose,Swenson , & Waller, 2004 )

I want to be liked I want to be popular Social status goals Social status insecurityI worry that my peers don’t like me … Social status insecurity feelings about current social standing Social status goal expectations on future social status Social COGNITIONS OF SOCIAL STATUS

Adolescents may worry or feel threatened about their social standing or status SSI has been linked to teacher-rated overt and relational aggression SSI may motivate adolescents to set goals to attain a desired peer status (Adler & Adler, 1995; Downey et al., 1998; Elliot & Murayama, 2008 ; Li, Wang, Wang, & Shi, 2010; Salmivalli & Peets , 2009; Sandstrom & Herlan , 2007) Social status insecurity (SSI)

Social status goals Social goals are the cognitive representations of desired outcomes in the social domain and are related to adolescents’ behaviors Social status goals are the specific social goals that adolescents generate regarding desired popularity or social preferencePopularity goalSocial preference goal(Crick, & Dodge, 1994; Jarvinen, & Nicholls, 1996 )

Behavioral correlates of social status goals Social preference goal: (+) related to prosocial behavior (-) related to overt and relational aggressionPopularity goal:(+) related to prosocial behavior (+) related to relational aggression ( Wright, Li & Shi, 2014)

Social Status Goals Behaviors Popularity Goal Social Preference Goal Aggression Prosocial Social Status Insecurity Control for current peer status and gender to get a clean delineation of associations between SSI, goals, and behaviors THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

405 American early adolescents (267 girls ) in 6th -8 th gradesMean age = 12.92 years (SD = .87)Ethnicities:48.5% White36.4% Hispanic11.0% African American3.6% Asian0.5% other Low socioeconomic status to middle class METHOD

Peer status Popularity : “popular/unpopular ”Social preference: “like most/like least”Behaviors assessed using peer-nominations (PN) and self-reports (SR) Prosocial behaviors (PNPB, SRPB) Overt aggression (PNOA, SROA)Relational aggression (PNRA, SRRA) ( Cillessen & Marks, 2011; Crick & Grotpeter , 1995; Li, Xie, & Shi, 2012 ) MEASURES

Social status insecurity (6 items ) examples: ‘‘ I worry that my peers don’t like me.’’ ‘‘I feel that my status among my peers is not high.’’ ‘‘ I worry about my popularity among my peers.’’ Social status goalsPopularity goal (6 items)example: ‘‘ I want to be popular among my peers.’’ Social preference goal (5 items) example: ‘‘I want to be well-liked by my peers.’’ MEASURES

RESULTS

RESULTS

RESULTS

SSI was associated with adolescents ’ status goals Adolescents ’ social preference goal and popularity goal were uniquely linked to prosocial and aggressive behaviorsFuture directions:Longitudinal design Refine SSIDISCUSSION

Dr. Yan Li Department of PsychologyDePaul University Correlation

Learning objectives Define and describe a relationship Correlation vs. causation Visualize a relationship Compute a Pearson rInterpret the results of a Pearson r

Relational Aggression Popularity 2134 56 7798 Example: Relational aggression and popularity

Popularity Relational Aggression Example: Relational aggression and popularity

Observe that the more adolescents use relational aggression, the higher their popularity There seems to be a positive relationship between relational aggression and popularity Example: Relational aggression and popularity

Correlation describes the extent to which two variables are related, or vary together. Examples: More time spent on studying and higher GPA The older the car, the less reliable it is on the road There are different types of correlationsFocus on Pearson correlationCorrelation

When two variables vary together, can we say one variable causes the other to change? Correlation vs. causation

Correlation vs. causation A positive and significant correlation between ice cream consumption and assault rate in a city was observedAfter controlling for the temperature, the positive correlation was gone Across a sample of 24 states, there is a positive association between number of community hospitals and number of deaths per year, e.g., Delaware vs. New YorkPopulation of the state might be a third variable explaining this relationship

Correlation does NOT imply causation It may be hard to determine which one is the cause and which one is the effect A third variable may explain a relationshipCorrelation vs. causation

A scatterplot can be used to visualize a relationship between two variables Observe different directionsA positive relationshipA negative relationshipNo relationshipVisualize relationships: scatterplot

Positive correlation No correlation Negative correlation Scatterplot

A positive relationship As the number of hours spent studying increases, the final grade of a course increases Scatterplot example Number of hours spent studying Final grade in course

A negative relationship As the number of missed classes increases , the exam score drops Example from https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/571fb46be11426187706f9f6Scatterplot example

N o relationship As the pulse rate increases, there is no systematic change in weight Scatterplot examplePulse rate Weight

Statistic to describe the relationship between two variables Assumptions:Random sampleIndependence of observationNormality LinearityPearson correlation coefficient r

The sign of r denotes the direction of association  positive correlation  negative correlation The absolute value of r denotes the strength of association -1.00 0 +1.00 Perfect No Perfect negative correlation positive correlation correlation   Pearson correlation coefficient r

Definitional formula: standardized covariance Computational formula: df = N - 2 Calculate Pearson correlation coefficient

Note: X is relational aggression. Y is popularity. N=5 Calculate r

N=5 Note: X is relational aggression. Y is popularity. Calculate r

Now let’s work in groups to calculate the r

After some calculation, we get r = 149/158.92 = . 94 N=5  df = 5-2 = 3Report: r (3) = .94 Calculate r

Hypothesis testing Null hypothesis: no relationship H 0: ρ=0Alternative hypothesis: some relationship H1: ρ 0For a two tailed test with α = .05 and df = 3, the critical values of r are . 878 If -.878 < r < +. 878, fail to reject H 0 If r -.878 or r +.878, reject H 0 Our r (3) = .94, which is > .878, p < . 05   Interpret r

We reject H 0 a nd accept the alternative hypothesisWe conclude that there was a significant and positive relationship between relational aggression and popularity. Among adolescents, more frequent use of relational aggression was associated with higher levels of popularity. Interpret r

One more exercise on Pearson correlation Let’s work in groups

Open SPSS dataset  Analyze  correlate  bivariate SPSS dataset and analysis steps

Symmetrical Results Correlation coefficient r p value SPSS output

Thank you!

References Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1995). Dynamics of inclusion and exclusion in preadolescent cliques. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58(3), 145–162. doi: 10.2307/2787039 . Andreou, E. (2006). Social preference, perceived popularity, and social intelligence: Relations to overt and relational aggression. School Psychology International, 27, 339-351. doi:10.1177/0143034306067286 Cillessen , A. H. N., & Mayeux, L. (2004). From censure to reinforcement: Developmental changes in the association between aggression and social status. Child Development, 75, 147-163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00660.x Coie , J. D, Dodge, K. A., & Kupersmidt , J. B. (1990). Peer group behavior and social status. In S. R. Asher, & J. D. Coie (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 17-59). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Crick, N. R. (1995). Relational aggression: The role of intent attributions, feelings of distress, and provocation type. Development and Psychopathology, 7 , 313-322. doi:10.1017/S0954579400006520 Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information processing mechanisms in children’ s social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115 , 74-101. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.74 Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter , J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66 , 710-722. doi:10.2307/1131945 Crick, N. R., & Ladd, G. W. (1993). Children ’ s perceptions of their peer experiences: Attributions, loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance. Developmental Psychology, 29 , 244-254. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.29.2.244 Downey, G., Lebolt , A., Rincon, C., & Freitas , A. L. (1998). Rejection sensitivity and children’s interpersonal difficulties. Child Development, 69, 1074–1091. doi: 10.2307/1132363 . Elliot, A. J., & Murayama, K. (2008). On the measurement of achievement goals: Critique, illustration, and application. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), 613–628. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.100.3.613 . Jarvinen , D. W., & Nicholls, J. G. (1996). Adolescents’ social goals, beliefs about the causes of social success, and satisfaction in peer relations. Developmental Psychology, 32, 435-441. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.32.3.435 Li, Y., & Wright, M. F. (January 01, 2014). Adolescents' Social Status Goals: Relationships to Social Status Insecurity, Aggression, and Prosocial Behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 1, 146-60. Li, Y. & Long, Y. (2015 March). Parental popularity goal set for adolescents: associations with adolescents’ popularity goal, behaviors, and popularity. Oral presentation given at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Philadelphia, PA. Parkhurst , J. T., & Asher, S. R. (1992). Peer rejection in middle school: Subgroup differences in behavior, loneliness, and interpersonal concerns. Developmental Psychology, 28 , 231-241. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.28.2.231 Prinstein , M. J., & Cillessen , A. H. N. (2003). Forms and functions of adolescent peer aggression associated with high levels of peer status. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology, 49, 310-342. doi:10.1353/mpq.2003.0015 Rose, A. J., Swenson, L. P., & Waller, E. M. (2004). Overt and relational aggression and perceived popularity: Developmental differences in concurrent and prospective relations. Developmental Psychology, 40 , 378-387. doi:10.1037/0012- 1649.40.3.378 Salmivalli , C., & Peets , K. (2009). Pre-adolescents peer-relational schemas and social goals across relational contexts. Social Development, 18(4), 817–832. doi : 10.1111/sode.2009.18.issue- 410.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00515.x . Sandstrom , M. J., & Herlan , R. D. (2007). Threatened egotism or confirmed inadequacy? How children’s perceptions of social status influence aggressive behavior toward peers. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26(2), 240–267. doi: 10.1521/jscp.2007.26.2.240 . Schwartz, D., Tom, S. R., Chang, L., Xu, Y., Doung , M. T., & Kelly, B. M. (2010). Popularity and acceptance as distinct dimensions of social standing for Chinese children in Hong Kong. Social Development, 19, 681-697. doi:10.1111/j.1467- 9507.2009.00558.x Yoon, J. S., Hughes, J. N., Cavell, T. A., & Thompson, B. (2000). Social cognitive differences between aggressive-rejected and aggressive-non-rejected children. Journal of Social Psychology, 38 , 551-570. doi:10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00052-2 Wright , M. F., Li, Y., & Shi, J. (July 01, 2014). Chinese Adolescents' Social Status Goals: Associations with Behaviors and Attributions for Relational Aggression. Youth & Society, 46, 4, 566-588.

Perfect linear relationship Correlation Coefficient of ±1.00 Scatterplot r = +1.0 r = -1.0

Scatterplot—strength of relationships Y X Y X Y Y X X Strong relationships Weak relationships Slide from: Statistics for Managers Using Microsoft® Excel 4th Edition, 2004 Prentice-Hall

Effect size for Pearson Correlation Coefficient of determination Percentage of variability in one variable that is accounted for by the other variable. r 2 = (r)2 X100%E.g., r2 = (.94)2 X100% = 88% Cohen (1988) provides standards for judging effect sizes:Small effect size 1% Medium effect size 9% Large effect size 25%  

Behavioral correlates of social status goals Social preference goal: (+) related to prosocial behavior (-) related to overt and relational aggressionPopularity goal:(+) related to prosocial behavior (+) related to relational aggression ( Wright, Li & Shi, 2014)

Research involvement of undergraduate students in my lab Assisted both quantitative and qualitative/mixed-method studiesExposed to both survey and experimental study designsHelped with online survey designsResearch products:16 poster presentations at local and national conferences 2 journal publications Research grants for undergraduate students:Doctoral & Undergraduate Opportunities for Scholarships (DUOS )

Research tasks conducted by undergraduate students In general: Literature search and review Data entry and organization using SPSS Preparation of manuscripts, conference posters, etc.For survey studies:Data collection Online survey setup P reliminary data analysis using SPSSFor experimental studies: Participant recruitment through classroom visits Experimenter For qualitative or mixed-method studies: Coding of focus group interview transcriptions Coding of open-ended responses

Future research involvement for undergraduate students Working on existing datasets: Three cross-sectional Three longitudinal Assist my future studies that may include: Refining SSI among adolescents using a mixed method designExamining peer status socializations among children and adolescentsExamining cyber bullying and victimization