Developmental Changes in the Conceptual Friendship Expectations Associated with Children's Friendship Preferences

Abstract

The relationship between friendship preferences for a hypothetical age-mate and the developmental levels of the dyadic friendship expectations (FEs) were obtainedfrom two samples (ages 9 to 10 and 11 to 12) of both sexes (N = 80). Two experiments were conducted, one for each sample. Subjects were first interviewed and classified into their dominant FE levels on a developmental scale. Subjects then rank-ordered preferences for tape recordings of four hypothetical age-mates, each representing alternative FE level statements. These four conditions were one FE level below (1), same level, one level above (+1) and two levels above (+2) the subject's dominant FE level. Sociometric choices were also observed on the 9and 10-year-olds. There was a successive age-shift of first choices from a random distribution over conditions to a -1, + I bifurcation, followed by a predominance of + 1. These changes were accompanied by increased FE interview responses at adjacent FE levels and better recall of condition most preferred. Tentative interpretations were in terms of equilibration mediated by developmental changes in verbal and memory skills. Sociometric choices were mainly in terms of FE level similarity, but were less similar for the older subjects. The reasons for the differences between hypothetical and sociometric choices were interpreted in terms of social compromise and/or measurement error.

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