Poster #227 - Popularity in Emerging Adulthood: A Qualitative Approach

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

In comparison to our rich understanding of adolescent popularity, we know little about popularity at the transition to emerging adulthood. Studies with college students indicate that popularity is associated with attractiveness, respect, success, dominant leadership, substance use, and relational aggression (Lansu & Cillessen, 2012; Phua, 2011). The current study adds to this small literature. First, we sought to identify the attributes that are associated with peer (un)popularity in emerging adulthood, and to compare descriptions of popular and unpopular peers. Second, we investigated whether there were sex differences in these descriptions, both from the perspective of the perceiver and target.
Two hundred nineteen undergraduates (70.8% women) provided descriptions of (un)popular male and female peers, yielding 2,301 separate descriptors. Three coders rated each descriptor for valence, from -4 (most negative), to +4 (most positive). Coders’ scores were averaged to form a single valence rating (α = .96). Coders also assigned descriptors to one of 12 categories developed from prior research and an examination of a subset of descriptors from this study. These categories were physical appearance, material wealth, peer interactions, risk-taking behavior, athletic ability (used only to describe males), academic performance, competencies, deviance, prosocial behavior, dominance, involvement in non-sport activities, and antisocial behavior.
We followed LaFontana and Cillessen’s (2002) method to analyze differences in descriptions of (un)popular males and females. Valence ratings for descriptors were summed within each category for each target group. Neutral valence scores (0) were used for categories in which participants did not comment. Each participant had 46 scores: one for each of the 11 categories describing each of the four target groups, plus two additional scores describing athletic abilities of (un)popular males. These scores reflect both the frequency and valence of participants’ descriptions for each category.
We performed a 2 (Target Popularity) X 2 (Target Sex) X 2 (Participant Sex) ANOVA on each category, with target popularity and target sex as repeated measures factors. Popular peers were viewed as significantly more attractive, wealthy, sociable, competent, academically-oriented, engaged in campus activities, and prosocial than unpopular peers (Figures 1 and 2). The Popularity X Target Sex interaction was significant for competencies, F(1, 218) = 22.30, p < .001, partial η2 = .09; there was a stronger association between popularity and competencies for men than for women.
The Popularity X Participant Sex interaction was significant for prosocial behavior, F(1, 216) = 11.92, p = .001, partial η2 = .05. Female participants perceived stronger associations between popularity and prosocial behavior than male participants. The Target Popularity X Target Sex X Participant Sex interaction was significant for physical appearance, F(1, 216) = 17.33, p < .001, partial η2 = .07. This interaction was explained by the fact that men (but not women) perceived a stronger positive association between popularity and appearance for female peers than for male peers, F(1, 62) = 21.63, p < .001, partial η2 = .26.
Discussion will focus on developmental changes in what it means to be popular, and the social/contextual changes that may give rise to these shifts.

Authors

• Cassandra Cross, TNTP
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lara Mayeux, University of Oklahoma
  Presenting Author