1-057 - Is "Popularity" Universal? Cross-cultural Examinations of Popularity Among Peers

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Over the past several decades, popular children and adolescents have been identified based on “like” and “dislike” nominations (i.e., social preference). Recently, findings from numerous studies conducted mostly in the U.S. reveal that individuals identified as “popular” or “unpopular” by peers have a different profile than those who are identified as high in social preference. Specifically, those who are popular are more aggressive (physical and relational), lower in academic status, and more often display problem behavior (substance use and sexual activity).

An unexplored question to be addressed in this symposium is whether this pattern of popularity is specific to the U.S. and other Western countries, perhaps emerging as a function of the structure of schools or the nature of the adolescent experience. Investigators from four laboratories working in very different regions of the world (China, Columbia, Ghana, and Indonesia) will address these questions along with a discussion of the multiple methodological hurdles that are presented with studying popularity across cultures.

In general, correlates of popularity in Indonesian are similar to the U.S, whereas in Columbia, this differs as a function of social class and classroom structure and organization. The differences between Chinese popular children and those who are socially preferred are less pronounced than in the U.S., but this might be a function of the lack of salience of “popularity” as an organizing concept. In Ghana, popularity and social preference were both were associated with prosocial traits and behaviors, but popularity was not associated with relational or overt aggression

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Doran C French, Purdue University

Individual Presentations

• The culture of the classroom context accounts for variations in the factors underlying popularity in preadolescence - Presenting Author: Megan A Wood, Concordia University; William M Bukowski, Concordia University; Jonathan Bruce Santo, University of Nebraska, Omaha; Kristen Dunfield, Concordia University

• Conceptualizing and Measuring Popularity Among Adolescents in Central Ghana - Presenting Author: Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Radboud University Nijmegen; Yuli R Tak, Radboud University

• Cross-Cultural Comparison of Peer Status Correlates in Adolescence - Presenting Author: Christopher S Sheppard, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Mitchell J Prinstein, Univ of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; Yao Shuqiao, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University; Zhu Xiongzhao, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University; John R.Z. Abela, Rutgers University

• Popularity and Social Preference in Indonesian Adolescents: - Presenting Author: Doran C French, Purdue University; Li Niu, Purdue Univ; Siyu Xu, Purdue University; Urip Purwono, Padjadjaran University