| Summary: | Cooperative coworker preferences of 120 children from the first, third and fifth grades were studied. It was predicted that friendship, peer ability levels, and the value of rewards offered would affect coworker preference on a reinforced cooperative task. An analogue was created requiring the subjects to rate coworker preferences for friends and nonfriends with both high and low ability on a cooperative task. The subjects were randomly assigned to either a high or low reward condition. The rewards were offered contingent upon the completion of the proposed cooperative task. === The grade x sex x reward level x friendship x ability design was analyzed by an ANOVA with repeated measures on the friendship and ability measures. The data revealed significant main effects for friendship (p < .001) and ability (p < .001) with friends being rated as better potential partners than nonfriends and high ability peers as more desirable coworkers than low ability peers. A significant grade x reward level x friendship x ability level interaction (p < .05) indicated that older children were more likely to use ability over friendship as a criterion for coworker selection. This criterion also appears to be particularly salient in the older children when highly valued rewards are at stake. The results are discussed in relation to previous findings on the development of friendship concepts in children. === Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, Section: B, page: 1796. === Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
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