Using data from a large sample of students (N = 1373; 40% girls; M[subscript age] = 14 years) from 54 classrooms, this study examines how multiple coexisting classroom norms--specifically, descriptive, injunctive, and popularity norms--independently and interactively shape the association between bullying behavior and peer rejection during early…

Although peer norms significantly influence adolescents' aggressive behaviors, little research compares their effects in online and offline contexts. Specifically, online contexts differ from traditional ones by enabling anonymity and amplifying behavior visibility. These characteristics could alter norm perceptions, reducing or increasing…

Recent work suggests that young children develop strong intuitions about inequitable resource distribution when it arises due to fair and unfair procedures (merit, structural, or random chance). Here, we investigated an understudied form of inequality: one that arises due to a single suboptimal choice (referred to as self-inflicted inequality).…

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of Thailand adolescents regarding the prevalence of smoking, the popularity of smoking among successful/elite elements of society, and disapproval of smoking by friends and parents. These perceptions were analyzed in conjunction with actual smoking and smoking susceptibility rates among the…

Drawing on social identity theory, this study explored the impact of the peer group on childhood bullying. Participants were 351 students, aged 8 to 13 years. Involvement in bullying, friendship group membership, norms of particular groups, and intra-group positions (prototypical vs. peripheral) were determined using peer reports. Results revealed…

Using multilevel analyses, we examined the influence of domain (moral, conventional, and personal) and the familiarity of different authority figures (mother, teacher, person in charge, and stranger) in public, school, or home settings in 123 four to seven-year-old Chinese children (M = 5.6 years) in Hong Kong. Children affirmed authority more for…

Few studies have examined the nature of aggression in emerging adulthood (ages 18-25), a unique developmental period wherein relationships become increasingly important and intimate. Consistent with a greater emphasis on relationships, relationally manipulative forms of aggression may be particularly salient during this time period. Based on…

Children's evaluations of what people communicate about themselves were examined in three studies with a total of 296 participants (aged four to 12). Participants heard scenarios in which characters' motivations to reveal truthful information were systematically manipulated to examine (1) children's understanding that people do not always reveal…