Social dominance in preschool classrooms.

Abstract

The authors examined preschoolers' aggressive and cooperative behaviors and their associations with social dominance. First and as predicted, directly observed aggressive interactions decreased across the school year, and same-sex aggression occurred more frequently than cross-sex aggression. Next, the authors examined the relation between aggression and reconciliation, cooperation, and social display variables. Teacher ratings of children's aggression related to observed aggression but not to observed "wins" of aggressive bouts. Instead, wins were related to cooperation and display variables. Finally, they examined the relative power of wins and cooperation in predicting 2 measures of social dominance. After age was controlled, wins alone predicted teacher-rated social dominance. Results are discussed in terms of different forms of competition and how school ethos affects these forms.

Who victimizes whom and who defends whom? A multivariate social network analysis of victimization, aggression, and defending in early childhood

“…The findings supported hypothesis 3: aggression was associated with high dominance and low insecurity (Hawley & Geldhof, 2012; Pellegrini et al, 2007; Perren & Alsaker, 2006). In contrast to hypothesis 4, however, victimization was associated with dominance (and unrelated to insecurity).…”

“…Thus, although there is some indication that aggression (in particular when accompanied by prosocial behavior) is associated with dominance in early childhood (Hawley & Geldhof, 2012; Pellegrini et al, 2007; Perren & Alsaker, 2006), victims are expected to have similar levels of dominance as other children and are not expected to exhibit vulnerabilities such as higher levels of insecurity. Previous research indicated that young victims indeed did not show some of the vulnerabilities identified among older victims such as attachment insecurity, poorer social cognitive skills, or lower sociometric status (Monks et al, 2011; Monks, Smith, & Swettenham, 2005).…”

Rough‐and‐tumble play and the regulation of aggression: an observational study of father–child play dyads

“…In the human adult literature, social dominance in adults is typically seen as a personality dimension, referring to a coercive or aggressive interpersonal style [Moskowitz, 1993;Mudrack, 1993]. However, dominance in humans may be best defined in terms of a dyadic, affiliative relationship between individuals [Pellegrini et al, 2007], such that within a relationship one individual is more likely to have the upper hand with respect to access to resources or control over circumstances [Hawley, 1999]. Defined in this way, dominance is a highly relevant characteristic of human social behavior, and it is particularly easy to observe in young children [Hawley, 1999].…”

Social stratification, classroom climate, and the behavioral adaptation of kindergarten children

“…("Maladaptive" and "adaptive behavior" refer to behavior that reflects, respectively, difficult or well-adjusted accommodation to novel or challenging circumstances, such as a kindergarten classroom.) The works of Pellegrini (45,46), Hawley (9), and Fehr (47) and their colleagues, describing the developmental emergence, behavioral signs, and socioemotional sequelae of childhood dominance and egalitarianism, are notable and important "down payments" on such a research agenda. To further examine linkages between subordination and maladaptive health outcomes, we studied a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of kindergarten children, assessing This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.…”