Abstract
Early peer conflict has received much research attention in developmental psychology, but cross-cultural research is still scarce. This chapter reviews some of the existing studies to explore to what degree early peer interactions during conflicts reflect cultural values. The chapter is divided into four subsections: (1) overview of the theoretical perspectives suggesting cultural differences in early peer conflict, (2) methodological issues that somewhat limit the comparability of cross-cultural studies, (3) cultural similarities and differences in preschool children’s conflicts and their managements, and (4) main conclusions and future directions. The reviewed studies show that early peer interactions during conflicts do reflect dominant cultural values. Cultural differences in the way children resolve conflicts with peers tend to be most emphasized. More specifically, cultural values shape the way children balance autonomy and relatedness during peer conflicts. These differences are observable as early as among 3-year-old children. There is less evidence about cultural differences in other aspects of preschool children’s peer conflicts. More research is needed to examine cultural differences in outcomes of conflicts, their intensity, reconciliation, third-party interventions, and in preschool children’s perceptions of conflicts.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ames, G. J., & Murray, F. B. (1982). When two wrongs make a right: Promoting cognitive change by social conflict. Developmental Psychology, 18(6), 894–897.
Ben-Arieh, A., Khooury-Kassabri, M., & Haj-Yahia, M. M. (2006). Generational, ethnic, and national differences in attitudes toward the rights of children in Israel and Palestine. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76, 381–388.
Chen, D. W., Fein, G. G., Killen, M., & Tam, H. P. (2001). Peer conflicts of preschool children: Issues, resolution, incidence, and age-related patterns. Early Education and Development, 12(4), 523–544.
Chen, X., & French, D. C. (2008). Children’s social competence in cultural context. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 591–616.
Chen, X., & Rubin, K. H. (1992). Correlates of peer acceptance in a Chinese sample of six-year-olds. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15(2), 259–273.
Chirkov, V. I., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Parent and teacher autonomy-support in Russian and U.S. adolescents: Common effects on well-being and academic motivation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 618–635.
Dunn, J., & Herrera, C. (1997). Conflict resolution with friends, siblings, and mothers: A developmental perspective. Aggressive Behavior, 23, 343–357.
Feldman, R., & Masalha, S. (2007). The role of culture in moderating the links between early ecological risk and young children’s adaptation. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 1–21.
Feldman, R., Masalha, S., & Derdikman-Eiron, R. (2010). Conflict resolution in the parent–child, marital, and peer contexts and children’s aggression in the peer group: A process-oriented cultural perspective. Developmental Psychology, 46(2), 310–325.
French, D. C., Pidada, S., Denoma, J., McDonald, K., & Lawton, A. (2005). Reported peer conflicts of children in the United States and Indonesia. Social Development, 14(3), 458–472.
Georgas, J., Mylonas, K., Bafiti, T., Poortinga, Y. H., Christakopoulou, S., Kagitcibasi, C., et al. (2001). Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16-culture study. International Journal of Psychology, 36(5), 289–300.
Greenfield, P. M., Keller, H., Fuligni, A., & Maynard, A. E. (2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 461–490.
Hartup, W. W., Laursen, B., Stewart, M. I., & Eastenson, A. (1988). Conflict and the friendship relations of young children. Child Development, 59, 1590–1600.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hu, Z., Chan, R. C., & McAlonan, G. M. (2010). Maturation of social attribution skills in typically developing children: An investigation using the social attribution task. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 6, 1–8.
Huijbregts, S. K., Leseman, P. P., & Tavecchio, L. W. (2008). Cultural diversity in center-based childcare: Childrearing beliefs of professional caregivers from different cultural communities in the Netherlands. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(2), 233–244.
Kagitçibaşi, Ç. (1996). Family and human development across cultures. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kagitçibaşi, Ç. (2013). Adolescent autonomy-relatedness and the family in cultural context: What is optimal? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23, 223–235.
Kagitcibasi, C., Ataca, B., & Diri, A. (2010). Intergenerational relationships in the family: Ethnic, socioeconomic, and country variations in Germany, Israel, Palestine, and Turkey. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 41(5–6), 652–670.
Killen, M., & Nucci, L. P. (1999). Morality, autonomy, and social conflict. In M. Killen & D. Hart (Eds.), Morality in everyday life: Developmental perspectives (pp. 52–86). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kramer, L. (2014). Learning emotional understanding and emotion regulation through sibling interaction. Early Education and Development, 25(2), 160–184.
Kyratzis, A., & Guo, J. (2001). Preschool girls’ and boys’ verbal conflict strategies in the United States and China. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 34(1), 45–74.
Laursen, B., Finkelstein, B. D., & Betts, N. T. (2001). A developmental meta-analysis of peer conflict resolution. Developmental Review, 21(4), 423–449.
Laursen, B., & Hafen, C. A. (2010). Future directions in the study of close relationships: Conflict is bad (except when it’s not). Social Development, 19, 858–872.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.
Martínez-Lozano, V., Sánchez-Medina, J. A., & Goudena, P. P. (2011). A cross-cultural study of observed conflicts between young children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(6), 895–907.
Maruyama, H., Ujiie, T., Takai, J., Takahama, Y., Sakagami, H., Shibayama, M., et al. (2015). Cultural difference in conflict management strategies of children and its development: Comparing 3-and 5-year-olds across China, Japan, and Korea. Early Education and Development, 26(8), 1210–1233.
Mayer, B. (2013). Family change theory: A preliminary evaluation on the basis of recent cross-cultural studies. In I. Albert & D. Ferring (Eds.), Intergenerational relations: European perspectives on family and society (pp. 167–187). Cambridge: Policy Press.
O’Brien, M., Roy, C., Jacobs, A., Macaluso, M., & Peyton, V. (1999). Conflict in the dyadic play of 3-year-old children. Early Education and Development, 10(3), 289–313.
Orlick, T., Zhou, Q. Y., & Partington, J. (1990). Co-operation and conflict within Chinese and Canadian kindergarten settings. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 22(1), 20–25.
Piaget, J. (1932). The moral judgement of the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Ross, H., Tesla, C., Kenyon, B., & Lollis, S. (1990). Maternal intervention in toddler peer conflict: The socialization of principles of justice. Developmental Psychology, 26(6), 994–1003.
Rothbaum, F., & Trommsdorff, G. (2007). Do roots and wings complement or oppose one another? The socialization of relatedness and autonomy in cultural context. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 461–489). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.
Rourke, M. T., Wozniak, R. H., & Wright Cassidy, K. (1999). The social sensitivity of preschoolers in peer conflicts: Do children act differently with different peers? Early Education and Development, 10(2), 209–227.
Rourou, A., Singer, E., Bekkema, N., & De Haan, D. (2006). Cultural perspectives on peer conflicts in multicultural Dutch child care centres. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 14(2), 35–53.
Rubin, K. H., & Krasnor, L. R. (1992). Interpersonal problem-solving and social competence in children. In V. B. Hasselt & M. Hersen (Eds.), Handbook of social development: A lifespan perspective (pp. 283–323). New York: Plenum.
Sánchez-Medina, J. A., Martínez-Lozano, V., & Goudena, P. P. (2001). Conflict management in pre-schoolers: A cross-cultural perspective La Gestion des Conflits chez les Enfants d’Aˆge Pre´ scolaire: Une perspective interculturelle Gestio´ n de Conflictos en los Preescolares: Una perspectiva inter-cultural. International Journal of Early Years Education, 9(2), 153–160.
Seginer, R., Shoyer, S., Hossessi, R., & Tannous, H. (2007). Adolescent family and peer relationships: Does culture matter? New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 116, 83–99.
Shantz, C. U. (1987). Conflicts between children. Child Development, 58, 283–305.
Singer, E., Van Hoogdalem, A. G., De Haan, D., & Bekkema, N. (2012). Day care experiences and the development of conflict strategies in young children. Early Child Development and Care, 182, 1661–1672.
Spivak, A. L. (2016). Dynamics of young children’s socially adaptive resolutions of peer conflict. Social Development, 25(1), 212–231.
Suizzo, M. A., Chen, W. C., Cheng, C. C., Liang, A. S., Contreras, H., Zanger, D., et al. (2008). Parental beliefs about young children’s socialization across US ethnic groups: Coexistence of independence and interdependence. Early Child Development and Care, 178(5), 467–486.
Super, C. M., & Harkness, S. (2002). Culture structures the environment for development. Human Development, 45(4), 270–274.
Tam, K. P., & Lee, S. L. (2010). What values do parents want to socialize in their children? The role of perceived normative values. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 41, 175–181.
Tamm, A., Tõugu, P., & Tulviste, T. (2014). The influence of individual and situational factors on children’s choice of a conflict management strategy. Early Education & Development, 25(1), 93–109.
Thornberg, R. (2006). The situated nature of preschool children’s conflict strategies. Educational Psychology, 26, 109–126.
Tobío, C., & Cordón, J. A. F. (2013). Family networks in Andalusia, Spain. International Review of Sociology, 23(1), 68–84.
Trommsdorff, G. (2012). Development of “agentic” regulation in cultural context: The role of self and world views. Child Development Perspectives, 6(1), 19–26.
Tulviste, T., & Koor, M. (2005). “Hands off the car, it’s mine!” and “The teacher will be angry if we don’t play nicely”: Gender-related preferences in the use of moral rules and social conventions in preschoolers’ dyadic play. Sex Roles, 53(1–2), 57–66.
Walker, S., Irving, K. A., & Berthelsen, D. C. (2002). Gender influences on preschool children’s social problem-solving strategies. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163, 197–210.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Friedman, R. J., Cole, P. M., Mizuta, I., & Hiruma, N. (1996). Japanese and United States preschool children’s responses to conflict and distress. Child Development, 67(5), 2462–2477.
Acknowledgements
The writing of this chapter was supported by the Estonian Research Council (grant no. PUT1359).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tamm, A. (2019). Peer Interactions: Culture and Peer Conflict During Preschool Years. In: Tulviste, T., Best, D., Gibbons, J. (eds) Children’s Social Worlds in Cultural Context. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27033-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27033-9_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-27032-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-27033-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)