Peer interaction influence on decision-making in ten-year-old children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in decision-making of ten-year old children under the influence of peer interaction. We tried to determine whether there were differences in the decision-making process when children made their decisions in a group, as opposed to the situation when they decided individually. In the first phase of the study (which included individual decision-making), 139 fourth-graders were tested. Based on their responses we formed 10 triads in the experimental group. The control group consisted of 31 children with the response structure equivalent to the initial response structure in the experimental group. In the second phase, children in the control group once again decided individually, while children in the experimental group made a group decision. We found that subjects in the control group retained their previous decisions, while children in the experimental group changed their initial decisions under the influence of peers, so that their decisions became less risky. This finding may be ascribed to the context in which the research was conducted (school), but also to the content of the task used. Qualitative analysis of social interaction enabled us to understand the dynamics of group decision-making. We found several mechanisms that explain how children change their initial decision in the triad (reference to the opinion of the authority, conversational passivity, majority rule, etc.), and how they retain their decision (conversational activity and argumentation).