Effects of intimacy and familiarity on self-assertive strategy in interpersonal conflicts among preschool children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interpersonal relations on self-assertive strategy. One hundred and thirty-four preschool children, 70 boys and 64 girls between five and six years old, were asked a set of questions concerning how they would feel and behave when a peer provoked them. The peer intimacy and familiarity were systematically varied, and the main results were as follows: High-intimacy/high-familiarity group chose self-assertive strategies more frequently than High-intimacy/low-familiarity group, and Low-intimacy/low-familiarity group chose self-assertive strategies more often than Low-intimacy/high-familiarity group. It was also found that the self-assertive strategy they would choose depend on the intimacy and familiarity of the peer. Implications of the findings for social cognitive ability and self-regulation of preschool children were discussed.