Children's Interpersonal Influence With Mothers and Peers

Abstract

Interpersonal influence attempts toward mothers and peers were examined in 75 five-year-olds. Consistent with a Piagetian view, children were less often immediately successful in their mother-directed attempts than in their peer-directed attempts. However, they were more often able to negotiate a compromise with mothers than with peers. This indicates that interaction with mothers may be more conducive to the development of social competence than interaction with peers. Linkages between both contexts were identified. Children who used abrasive strategies with mothers were aggressive and unsuccessful with peers. Mothers' influence strategies, assessed when children were toddlers and at age 5, predicted children's influence styles with peers: Children whose mothers often used negative control were aggressive and unsuccessful; those whose mothers used polite guidance were rarely inarticulate or coercive; and those whose mothers often issued unclear commands were less successful and less prosocial with their peers.