Abstract
HONESS, TERRY. Self-Reference in Children's Descriptions of Peers: Egocentricity or Collaboration? CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1980, 51, 476-480. Children's references to themselves in descriptions of others are typically interpreted as reflecting degree of egocentrism. However, a content analysis of children's descriptions of liked and disliked peers as a function of their own age (8-13), sex, and verbal intelligence revealed a sharp rise in the use of such constructs for older children. This is argued to mark the preadolescent period of Sullivan's developmental theory, which involves an intimate same-sex friendship that hinges on collaboration in satisfying each child's needs. The limitations of a strictly quantitative content analysis are illustrated in discussing earlier applications of Werner's theory.
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