Thesis--M.A., University of Hong Kong. / Typewritten.

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Arts

The current study was designed to examine sex differences in the stability of same-sex friendships. Based on past research, it was hypothesized that boys have more stable friendship nominations than girls. Four hundred fifty-one elementary and high school students from grades three, four, seven and eight completed questionnaires in which they were asked to nominate their closest friends. Friendship nominations were collected three times over a seventh month period, in the fall, winter and spring of the school year. Partial support was obtained for the hypothesis at the high school level: Adolescent boys had more stable friendship nominations than adolescent girls. No sex differences in stability were evident at the elementary level. At all grade levels, fewer friendship nominations were made at the beginning of the year and friendship stability was lowest over the longer time interval from fall to spring. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of the stability of friendships for peer social support.

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The present study examined the emotional responses of 112 dyads of same-sex friends in early and middle childhood as they competed against each other on 3 identical games, enabling each child in the pair to experience 3 outcome conditions: winning, losing, and tying. Emotional reactions were videotaped and rated for degree of enjoyment and discomfort. In addition, following the 3 games, children were individually interviewed and asked to report their levels of happiness regarding winning, losing, and tying. The social context of a dyad is more closely associated with female social interaction which tends to be egalitarian. It was hypothesized that boys' well-documented greater comfort with competition relative to girls would be attenuated in the context of a dyad. Results indicated that boys showed more comfort and enjoyment throughout the competitive process than did girls. However, both boys and girls showed equal levels of comfort and enjoyment for the win and tie outcomes, indicating boys, like girls, were also concerned with doing the same as their friend. A developmental difference was also seen as the children in middle childhood reported less happiness than the kindergarten children when they experienced the win outcome. The results are discussed in terms of the necessity of considering the social context in which competition occurs when investigating gender differences in competition.

In Experiment 1 preschool children were videotaped playing in groups of same-sex friends. Responses to Vulnerability were coded and content analyzed. Sex differences were examined to explore whether girls display more responses to Vulnerability than boys and whether girls and boys differ in Responses to Vulnerability in their play. No sex differences were found in amount of time responding to Vulnerability; however, some support was found for sex differences in types of Responses to Vulnerability. / Experiment 2 experimentally examined girls' and boys' preferences for vignettes representing Categories of Response to the same Vulnerability Situation: Dominant Mastery, Nurturant Mastery, and Sharing Problems. Preferences for two Vulnerability Situations were examined. Boys were expected to show a preference for Dominant Mastery responses and girls a preference for Sharing Problems as well as Nurturant Mastery responses. Several marginally significant results were found. Discussion focuses on adult consequences and implications for later male and female interactions.

The current study explored gender differences in groups of boys and girls in a limited resource context. Forty same-sex groups of four children from kindergarten and grade four were observed during sessions in which groups played first with two different toys and then two different games. The toy and game sessions were constructed so children had to negotiate for a scarce resource (attractive toy and game winner's certificate). In the case of one of the toys the end of a player's turn was obvious to group members (explicit turn-taking toy), in the case of the other toy the end of a turn was not obvious to group members (nonexplicit turn-taking toy). Resource use (time with toy), group variability in resource use, positive affect and self-report measures were collected. Results of the toy sessions revealed both genders were very similar on all the measures; however, girls were significantly more likely to have greater group variance in distributing the nonexplicit turn-taking toy. The two games, one competitive and one noncompetitive, involved players trying to reach a finish line. For the competitive game, only one player could win, but for the noncompetitive game all players could win. During both games, a player could potentially interfere with another player's goal to win. Resource use (interfering), group variability in resource use, positive affect and self-report measures were collected. Results of the game sessions revealed both genders were very similar on all measures, however, during the competitive game, girls were more likely to have greater group variance in interfering. The results are discussed in terms of considering aspects of the context when investigating gender differences in competition.

Past research has provided conflicting results concerning sex differences in the desire for status. The current study was designed to examine more explicitly sex differences in the desire to attain status. Eighty girls and 80 boys from kindergarten and grade four were placed in groups of four same-sex friends and were observed during a session in which they had to choose a leader, as well as during a drawing task. The children were also interviewed following the tasks using a questionnaire format. Results showed that there were no sex differences in the number of volunteers to be leader, in the length of time to negotiate who would be the leader, in the degree of positive affect expressed while choosing a leader, or in the degree of involvement in the negotiation of who would be the leader. Results suggest that based on this one study in which status was defined as leadership, no sex differences exist in the desire to attain status, although leadership styles may vary. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of the desire for status for the personality development of females and males.