Friendship
http://girlfriendology.com/blog/2599/girlfriends-for-a-reason/
As humans go through life they experience many social settings and interactions. One of these regular social interactions is friendship. Friends are people “who engage in mutual companionship, support and intimacy.” (Santrock, 303) These interactions and relationships are usually much more involved than typical peer to peer behavior. Many adolescents have multiple close friendships. These friendships are important aspects of how adolescents go throughout life. The functions of friendships can be categorized in six ways (Gottman & Parker, 1987).
Six Different Functions of Adolescent Friendship
1. Companionship- Friends normally enjoy spending time together and sharing in similar activities.
2. Stimulation- Friends have fun together; sharing information, and promote excitement and amusement.
3. Physical Support- Friends genuinely care about each other. They physically try to support each other when going through hard or challenging times. Example: a friend will be there to listen and lean on when another friend is going through a break up.
4. Ego Support- Friends try to encourage each other. This helps maintain a healthy self-image.
5. Social Comparison- Friends provide each other with information about where they stand among other adolescents.
6. Intimacy and Affection- Friends trust each other and are genuinely kind to one another.
One psychologist who is a leading theorist in adolescent friendship is Harry Stack Sullivan. “Everyone has basic social needs, such as the need for secure attachment, playful companionship, social acceptance, intimacy, and sexual relations. Whether or not these needs are fulfilled largely determines our emotions well-being.” Said Sullivan. Sullivan believed that friendships are very important when it comes to meeting social needs.
Another psychologist who has studied peer relations for four decades, Willard Hartup, believed that adolescents “use friends as cognitive and social resources on a regular basis.” (Santrock, 304)
It is important to remember that not all adolescent friendships are the same or have the same value. Some are closer than others, and some are more intimate then others.
Click Here for sources.
Six Different Functions of Adolescent Friendship
1. Companionship- Friends normally enjoy spending time together and sharing in similar activities.
2. Stimulation- Friends have fun together; sharing information, and promote excitement and amusement.
3. Physical Support- Friends genuinely care about each other. They physically try to support each other when going through hard or challenging times. Example: a friend will be there to listen and lean on when another friend is going through a break up.
4. Ego Support- Friends try to encourage each other. This helps maintain a healthy self-image.
5. Social Comparison- Friends provide each other with information about where they stand among other adolescents.
6. Intimacy and Affection- Friends trust each other and are genuinely kind to one another.
One psychologist who is a leading theorist in adolescent friendship is Harry Stack Sullivan. “Everyone has basic social needs, such as the need for secure attachment, playful companionship, social acceptance, intimacy, and sexual relations. Whether or not these needs are fulfilled largely determines our emotions well-being.” Said Sullivan. Sullivan believed that friendships are very important when it comes to meeting social needs.
Another psychologist who has studied peer relations for four decades, Willard Hartup, believed that adolescents “use friends as cognitive and social resources on a regular basis.” (Santrock, 304)
It is important to remember that not all adolescent friendships are the same or have the same value. Some are closer than others, and some are more intimate then others.
Click Here for sources.
Concept Applied in the Classroom
http://tm053.k12.sd.us/circle_of_friends.htm
As a middle school teacher it is important to understand what makes healthy friendships. It is important that a teacher promotes healthy relationships in and out of the classroom.
A Government teacher may promote healthy peer interactions and educational decision-making by separating the class into the three major branches of government. She will then create multiple ideas for future laws the students can pass or not pass. The students have to work together in order to make educated decisions on whether each bill should be passed to the next level or not. (1.3) They have to make theses decisions based on previous knowledge about law making, and other concepts they have learned in class. This way the students have to learn to work together in order to link prior knowledge together and apply it in a more real scenario. (2.4)
A social studies teacher may develop a plan for her students to have pen pals from another culture background. The students in her class will be required to email, skype, or facebook message their pen pal at different times during the class. This way the teacher is promoting both the use of technology and healthy friendships with people of different cultures than the students are used to. Teaching students to communicate online and develop relationships with someone who is not a face-to-face contact, teaches students not only about different cultures but how to use different technologies to get to know people. (2.9/5.4) The teacher may also find a way for the pen pals to meet up, in a healthy environment, so they can get to know each other face-to-face as well.
A Government teacher may promote healthy peer interactions and educational decision-making by separating the class into the three major branches of government. She will then create multiple ideas for future laws the students can pass or not pass. The students have to work together in order to make educated decisions on whether each bill should be passed to the next level or not. (1.3) They have to make theses decisions based on previous knowledge about law making, and other concepts they have learned in class. This way the students have to learn to work together in order to link prior knowledge together and apply it in a more real scenario. (2.4)
A social studies teacher may develop a plan for her students to have pen pals from another culture background. The students in her class will be required to email, skype, or facebook message their pen pal at different times during the class. This way the teacher is promoting both the use of technology and healthy friendships with people of different cultures than the students are used to. Teaching students to communicate online and develop relationships with someone who is not a face-to-face contact, teaches students not only about different cultures but how to use different technologies to get to know people. (2.9/5.4) The teacher may also find a way for the pen pals to meet up, in a healthy environment, so they can get to know each other face-to-face as well.