There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Psychology

Friendship and hedonism are both major components of Epicureanism. I attempt to relieve the tension that seems to follow from endorsing both of these. I argue that Epicurean friendships require valuing a friend’s well-being in the same way as one’s own and that embarking on such friendships is what David Schmidtz terms a maieutic end – one that is achieved by taking on a new set of ends. This conception fits with other-regarding concern that is espoused throughout the Epicurean texts discussing friendship and, as I argue, remains consistent with other psychological and ethical commitments of Epicureanism.

This thesis explores how social networking sites are changing the way individuals socialize in everyday life, and how users mediate this social media. The hypothesis explored is that Facebook user’s perception of risk, when using the site, is related to how they frame the technology. Drawing on conceptual and theoretical tools from science studies and the sociologies of friendship, risk and surveillance, interview data is collected and analysed in order to identify the dynamics that structure Facebook use. It is concluded not only that, as hypothesized, participant’s awareness and perception of risk is based upon their framing of the social networking technology, but also that the framing processes arise from the technosocial hybrid nature of Facebook. That is to say, it is not exclusively based on technological possibility or on existing social practices but instead by a constant balance between the two.

This multi-method study provides detailed information about the friendships of 87 children with ADHD (77.0% boys) and 46 comparison children (73.9% boys) between the ages of 7 and 13. The methods used in the study included parent and teacher ratings, self-report measures, and direct observation of friends’ dyadic behaviours in three structured analogue tasks. Results indicated that, in contrast with comparison children, children with ADHD had friends with high levels of ADHD and oppositional symptoms; they perceived fewer positive features and more negative features, and were less satisfied in their friendships. Observational data indicated that children with ADHD performed both more legal and more illegal manoeuvres than comparison children in a fast-paced competitive game. While negotiating with their friends, children with ADHD made more insensitive and self-centred proposals than comparison children. In dyads consisting of one child with ADHD and one typically developing child, children with ADHD were often more controlling than their non-diagnosed friends. Globally, these results were robust and did not seem to be affected by age differences, ADHD subtypes, comorbidities, and medication status. Given the increased recognition of ADHD in adolescence and adulthood as well as the fact that negative peer reputation in childhood very strongly predicts mental-health status by early adulthood, this research may lead to the discovery of meaningful ways to help people with ADHD achieve improved mental health and happiness over their lifespan.

Vilka normer och värderingar bidrar till en god vänskapsrelation? Ien kvalitativ undersökning intervjuades tre män och tre kvinnormellan 20-30 år. Respondenterna som rekryterades via ettbekvämlighetsurval svarade på 15 frågor om deras syn på vänskap.Resultatet visade att respondenterna hade vissa gemensamma svarsom delades upp efter följande teman; tillit, acceptans, intimitet.Vänskap visade sig ha en betydande roll för välmående eftersom detär en grundläggande del av människans liv. Studien visade även attdet ur ett genusperspektiv fanns förväntningar som skiljde sig åt i envänskapsrelation och att dessa skillnader grundade sig på normer ochvärderingar. Resultatet visade slutligen att normer och värderingargenom åren har skapats genom kulturen som har sin grund isamhället. / What kind of norms and values determine a good friendship? In aqualitative study three men and three women aged 20-30 years oldwere interviewed. The respondents who were recruited through aconvenience sampling were asked to answer questions concerningtheir view about friendship. After analyzing the interview protocol,three common themes were identified: trust acceptance and intimacy.Friendship showed to be a significant part when it came to people andtheir wellbeing. The study also showed that men and women haddifferent expectations for what that friendship will entail and thesedifferences were based on norms and values. It seems that norms andvalues are developed through the existing culture in society and inover time.

The present study was designed to investigate gender differences in the fragility of children's close, same-sex friendships. Based on past research, it was hypothesized that the close friendships of girls are more fragile than those of boys. A secondary goal of the study was to explore possible reasons for the sex difference in friendship instability. Students from 17 classes of grades one through six of an elementary school were interviewed about past friendships, and conflict resolution among current friends, within their class. The hypothesis that girls' friendships are more fragile was supported: The number of past friendship reported for girls was higher than that reported for boys across all grade levels. No explanations were found for the sex difference in fragility of friendships. Results are discussed in terms of the lack of explanations for gender differences in friendship fragility, as well as the implications of lower friendship stability on the psychosocial well being of girls.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。