Ruth Pearl

Heterogeneity of popular boys: antisocial and prosocial configurations.

This study examined subtypes of popular 4th-6th grade boys (N = 452). Popular-prosocial (model) and popular-antisocial (tough) configurations were identified by means of teacher ratings and compared with peer and self-assessments and social centrality measures. Peers perceived model boys as cool, athletic, leaders, cooperative, studious, not shy, and nonaggressive. Peers perceived tough boys as cool, athletic, and antisocial. Model boys saw themselves as nonaggressive and academically competent. Tough boys saw themselves as popular, aggressive, and physically competent. Tough boys were disproportionately African American, particularly when African Americans were a minority in their classrooms. Model and tough boys were overrepresented at nuclear social centrality levels. These findings suggest that highly aggressive boys can be among the most popular and socially connected children in elementary classrooms.

Peer Groups, Popularity, and Social Preference Trajectories of Social Functioning Among Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

The extant literature on the social functioning of students with learning disabilities (LD) has indicated that whereas a majority belong to peer groups, a higher proportion are isolated and most have lower social status among peers in general than their typically achieving classmates. Although some work has examined these issues over short-term longitudinal studies, none to date have examined them over extensive time periods. Toward this end, the current study examined a sample of 1,361 students (678 girls and 683 boys; 55 with LD) using multiple measures of peer social functioning assessed each semester from spring of third grade through fall of sixth grade. The results indicated that whereas students with LD were similar to their typically achieving peers in terms of group functioning and characteristics, they were viewed as lower in social standing among their classmates as a whole. These effects were maintained over time, indicating that long-term inclusion may not substantially affect peer social functioning among students with LD.

Learning Disabled Children's Attributions for Success and Failure.

These studies examined underachieving and control childrens beliefs about the causes of their successes and failures. In Study 1, third- through eighth-grade children were administered a scale measuring locus of control in achievement situations. Results indicated that underachieving children had weaker feelings of internal control over success than the control children. In Study 2, first- through eighth-grade children rated the importance of ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck for success and failure in reading, on puzzles, and in social situations. The childrens ratings indicated that underachievers believed lack of effort played less of a role in their failures than did control children. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the achievement behavior of learning disabled children.

Learning Disabled Children's Peer Interactions during a Small-Group Problem-Solving Task.

Learning disabled children in grades three through eight participated in a problem-solving task requiring group decision making. An analysis of group choices indicated that the independently made choices of learning disabled children were less likely to be among the groups final choices. Analyses of the childrens communication patterns revealed that learning disabled children were less likely to disagree with classmates, less likely to try to argue for their choices, and more likely to agree with their peers. In addition, learning disabled children were found to be less likely to engage in “conversational housekeeping” than nondisabled children. Hence, learning disabled children were less persuasive than nondisabled children, apparently as a result of their assuming a submissive, deferential role when interacting with small groups of peers.

Deviant or Diverse Peer Groups? The Peer Affiliations of Aggressive Elementary Students.

This study examined peer affiliations of aggressive children in a sample of 948 students (496 girls, 452 boys) from 59 elementary classrooms (4th-6th grades). Groups were identified as zero aggressive, nonaggressive, aggressive, and mixed. The deviant peer group hypothesis was partially supported. Two thirds of aggressive boys and one half of aggressive girls were members of nonaggressive or mixed peer groups. Unpopular aggressive boys were most likely to be members of nonaggressive groups, whereas popular aggressive boys were most likely to be in aggressive and mixed groups. Aggressive and nonaggressive associates tended to be similar on key social characteristics (i.e., popularity, athleticism, leadership).

Learning Disabled Children's Conversational Skills--The "TV Talk Show.".

This study examined the conversational competence of learning disabled children when placed in a dominant social position. Learning disabled and nondisabled children were videotaped as they played the role of a talk show host interviewing a nondisabled child. The conversational strategies of the learning disabled and nondisabled children were analyzed for discourse and turn-taking behaviors. The results indicated that although the learning disabled children were cooperative conversational partners, their strategies for initiating and sustaining the interaction differed from those of nondisabled children. Learning disabled children asked fewer questions and were less likely to produce open-ended questions than nondisabled children. In turn, their conversational partners were less likely to provide elaborative responses to their questions. The results are discussed in terms of current hypotheses about learning disabled childrens linguistic deficits and their difficulties in establishing positive peer relations.

LD CHILDREN'S ATTRIBUTIONS FOR SUCCESS AND FAILURE: A REPLICATION WITH A LABELED LD SAMPLE

Third- and fourth-grade learning disabled childrens attributions for success and failure were examined. Results indicated that successes are not always interpreted by learning disabled children as reflecting something positive about themselves. At the same time, failure is not necessarily viewed as something that can be overcome with effort. The findings point to the need for parents and teachers to be sensitive to LD childrens potentially debilitating interpretation of their own performances.

The Social Integration of Students with Mild Disabilities in General Education Classrooms: Peer Group Membership and Peer-Assessed Social Behavior

The social integration of students with mild disabilities was examined in 59 elementary classrooms. 198 students with mild disabilities were included in the sample of 1,538 students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. 3 aspects of the social relations of students with mild disabilities were assessed with questionnaires: peer group membership, peer-assessed behavioral characteristics, and the peer-assessed behavioral characteristics of their associates. Most students with mild disabilities were members of classroom peer groups. However, students with mild disabilities were overrepresented as social isolates (20%). Students with mild disabilities differed from general education and academically gifted students on peer-assessed behavioral characteristics, were underrepresented in prosocial peer groups, and overrepresented in antisocial peer groups. Students with mild disabilities who had high levels of prosocial behavior tended to be members of high-prosocial peer groups. Students with mild disabilities who had high levels of antisocial behavior tended to be members of high-antisocial peer groups. Implications for intervention research are discussed.

Social Status and Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior in Girls: Individual, Group, and Classroom Influences.

Recent studies have found distinct subtypes of aggressive youth, marked by either high social status or social marginalization, and that various measures of status differentially associate with aggression. The majority of these studies, however, focused on boys, adolescents, and/or relational aggression in girls. The current research examined how the kind of status measured and the social ecology affect the association between overt aggression and social status in a sample of 187 3rd grade girls. Cluster analysis uncovered aggressive-popular, aggressive-unpopular, and prosocial-popular configurations. Although likeability was related solely to prosocial behavior, other measures of status co-occurred with both prosocial and aggressive behavior. Peer-group behavior complemented that of individuals, though peer-group and classroom acceptance of aggression were not related to cluster prevalence.

Sizing up a Situation: LD Children's Understanding of Social Interactions

Learning disabled (LD) and nondisabled (NLD) children were shown a series of soap opera vignettes in order to test their comprehension of interpersonal interactions. Results showed that the LD group consistently made more social comprehension errors than did the NLD group. The contribution of LD childrens social comprehension problems to their lack of social acceptance is discussed.