The influence of pragmatic competence on the likeability of grade‐school children

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11273166
AutoresKaren S Place (University of South Florida, autor de correspondencia), Judith A Becker (University of South Florida)
Año1991
Volumen14
Número2
Páginas227-241
Fecha de publicación1991-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaDiscourse Processes (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0163-853X • E-ISSN: 1532-6950
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01638539109544783
OpenAlexW1992444983
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas23

Previous research and theory suggest that effective use of specific pragmatic behaviors is important to social competence in children. The present study is the first attempt to examine the impact four pragmatic skills have on likeability using experimental methodology. Ninety‐one popular and less popular 10‐year‐old girls listened to one of five audiotaped scenarios in which a girl used four different pragmatic skills (requesting, turn‐taking, responding promptly when spoken to, and maintaining the logic of the conversation) either appropriately or inappropriately in a conversation with a school librarian. Subjects rated how much they would like to play with the girl and also described her in terms of attractiveness, school ability, and popularity. Subjects saw the girl as more likeable when she displayed pragmatic competence than when she requested inappropriately, F(1, 33) = 47.86, p<.001; interrupted, F(1, 33) = 13.56, p<.001; and failed to maintain the logic of the conversation, F(1, 31) = 5.90, p<.05. They also described her more positively when she displayed pragmatic competence. Subjects’ responses did not vary as a function of their own popularity level. These results demonstrate the importance of pragmatic skills for popularity and the paradigm offers a methodology for identifying pragmatic skills of relevance to various populations

Attractiveness · Competence (human resources · Conversation · Developmental psychology · Girl · Popularity · Social change · Social competence · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Child Development and Digital Technology · Communication · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Psychology · Social Psychology