Young Children’s Perceptions of Hypothetical Peers’ Social and Solitary Preferences

Research Findings: The present study explored young children’s beliefs about hypothetical peers’ loneliness (negative feelings due to perceptions of not spending enough time with others), aloneliness (negative feelings due to perceptions of not spending enough time alone), unsociability (enjoyment of solitude), and sociability (enjoyment of peer interactions). Participants were 117 preschool children (n = 59girls, 50.4%) between the ages of 36 and 77 months (M = 54.88, SD = 10.78) in Italy. Children were shown vignettes depicting hypothetical peers displaying social/solitary behaviors and then responded to a series of questions regarding their perceptions of peers’ behaviors. Among the results, participants (1) attributed the lowest social motivations to the alonely peer and the lowest solitary motivations to the lonely and sociable peers; (2) reported lower affiliative preference (i.e. wanting to play/be friends with) toward alonely/unsociable than lonely/sociable peers; and (3) displayed more sympathy to lonely than unsociable peers. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest that young children have a rather sophisticated understanding of different aspects of their peers’ social/solitary preferences. A deeper under standing of younger children’s perceptions of peers’ social/solitary preferences provides valuable insights for future interventions to improve social dynamics and socio-emotional functioning in the peer group.