Children's differentiation between ingratiation and self-promotion

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that 10-year-olds can provde interpersonal explanations for certain self-presentational tactics, but detailed information about the development of their understanding of these tactics is lacking. This research investigated children's understanding of the processes involved in ingratiation (used to indicate likeability) and self-promotion (used to indicate competence). In the first study, with a sample of 60 children aged 6-11 years, children saw ingratiation as leading to more positive social evaluation then self-promotion, which was seen as having a more concrete, instrumental function. Additionally, children's differentiation between ingratiation and self-promotion was correlated with their level of peer-preference, as determined through sociometric nominations, particularly for the boys. In a second study, with a sample of 63 children aged 6-11 years, it was found that audience type (peer vs. adult) was related to childrens understanding of the self presentational tactics: children offered more social evaluation justifications for a self-promotion tactic where the audience was a peer rather than an adult. Results are discussed with reference to emerging insights into the links between peer relations and social cognition.