Socialization, Role of Peers

The term peer relations refers to a set of interre lated experiences that take place in either dyadic or group contexts and that are a consequence or an antecedent of characteristics of the individual. These experiences have been conceptualized according to a three-level model that includes the individual, the dyad, and the group. According to this model, the level of the individual refers to the characteristics that children bring with them to their experiences with peers or that they take away from these experiences. These characteristics include more or less stable characteristics of the person, such as social orientations, behavioral patterns, temperaments, social skills, forms of social perception, cognition, and social problem solving. Dyadic experiences refer to the properties and characteristics of the interactions and relationships that a child has with a specific peer. The best-known example of a dyadic experience is friendship, but other types exist, such as bully-victim pairs or mutual antipathies. The group context refers to the structure and features of the set of peers in which the child and the child's relationships are embedded. Groups are distinguished from each by their internal structures (e.g., levels of cohesion among members) and by their “content” as manifested by the behavioral norms, attitudes, and values. This entry discusses the theory and current knowledge base about the role of peers in socialization processes, showing how experiences with peers affect development and adjustment.

Phenomena from each of these three levels of experience are interrelated in the sense that individual, dyadic, and group variables influence one another. For example, when individuals enter into a relationship (i.e., a dyadic experience), they bring with them particular behavioral tendencies, as well as a range of expectations and needs derived from their own relationship history. These factors, in turn, combine and interact with those of their friendship partner to determine the characteristics and effects the friendship will have. Moreover, the broader group provides a particular climate that may either favor or disfavor particular characteristics of individuals, thus making a particular child more or less popular.