Abstract
One bunk of eight 16- to 17-year old females was studied over a four-week camping session. Instances of dyadic dominance behaviors between group members were recorded in three settings. Although participants formed a cohesive group dominance structure that remained relatively stable throughout the camp session, the structure was not rigid or hierarchical. A new term, “cohesive dyarchy,” was coined to describe intracabin dominance relations. In contrast to many studies of adolescent females, popularity with boys and physical attractiveness were not found to be major predictors of dominance status. A variety of personality traits emphasizing interpersonal skills, athletic ability, and self-reported self-esteem predicted dominance status. Implications of these findings in terms of female adolescent development and future research are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Coleman, J. S. (1961).The Adolescent Society, Free Press, New York.
Coopersmith, S. (1967).The Antecedents of Self-Esteem, Freeman, San Francisco.
Douvan, E., and Adelson, J. (1966).The Adolescent Experience, Wiley, New York.
Gilligan, C. (1977). In a different voice: Women's conceptions of self and of morality.Harvard Educ. Rev. 47: 481–517.
Hartup, W. W. (1983). Peer relations. In P. H. Mussen and E. M. Hetherington (Eds.)Handbook of Child Psychology, 4th ed., Vol. IV, Wiley, New York.
Harvard Computation Laboratory Staff. (1955).Tables of the Cumulative Binomial Probability Distribution, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Hollingshead, A. B. (1949).Elmtown's Youth, Wiley, New York.
Holstein, C. (1976). Development of moral judgment: A longitudinal study of males and females.Child Dev. 47: 51–61.
Mead, M. (1928).Coming of Age in Samoa, Morrow, New York.
Meek, L. H. (1940).The Personal-Social Development of Boys and Girls with Implications for Secondary Education, Progressive Education Association, New York.
Parsons, T., and Bales, R. (1955).Family, Socialization, and Interaction Process, Free Press, Glencoe, Ill.
Robinson, J., and Shaver, P. (1973).Measures of Social Psychological Attitudes, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1979). Dominance hierarchies in groups of early adolescents.Child Dev. 50: 923–935.
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1977). Dominance in a human adolescent group.Animal Beh. 25 400–406.
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1976). An ethological study of dominance formation and maintenance in a group of human adolescents.Child Dev. 47 972–979.
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1980). Social interactions of adolescent females in natural groups. In Foot, H. C., Chapman, A. J., and Smith, J. R. (eds.),Friendship and Social Relations in Children, Wiley, New York.
Schwartz, S. (1968). Words, deeds, and the perception of consequences and responsibility in action situations.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 12: 232–242.
Sherif, C. W., Kelly, M., Rodgers, H. L., Sarup, G., and Tittler, B. (1973). Personal involvement, social judgment and action.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 27: 311–328.
Siegel, S. (1956).Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Taylor, J., and Reitz, W. (1968).The Three Faces of Self-Esteem, Research Bulletin No. 80, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario.
Weisfeld, G. E., Bloch, S. A., and Ivers, J. A. (1983). Possible determinants of social dominance among adolescent girls.J. Genet. Psychol. (in press).
Weisfeld, C. C., Weisfeld, G. E., and Callaghan, J. W. (1982). Female inhibition in mixed-sex competition among young adolescents.Ethol. Sociobiol. 3: 29–42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Major research interests are in adolescent development, self-concept, and women studies.
Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Main research interests are the development of sexual preference, adolescent development, and ethology.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Paikoff, R.L., Savin-Williams, R.C. An exploratory study of dominance interactions among adolescent females at a summer camp. J Youth Adolescence 12, 419–433 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088724
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088724