FRIENDS BY CHOICE: THE ROLE OF CONVERSATIONAL PREFERENCES IN THE FORMATION OF SUPPORTIVE PEER GROUPS

Abstract

Peer groups have often been regarded as an integral aspect of many educational interventions and collaborative learning environments. However, limited research has been done to examine the possible factors that may give rise to the development of more adaptive peer groups. Accordingly, 384 university students were recruited to participate in a novel study task, which involved a series of brief chat messaging sessions with other participants. The study proposed that student conversational preferences underlie the formation of more effective peer groups, and tested this hypothesis using a preprogrammed algorithm which sorted participants into distinct peer groups based on their preferences for subsequent analyses. Thereafter, the study also explored links between these preferences and the hypothesised outcome variables of informational, emotional support, and relational closeness with one another. Results of the study partially supported the main hypothesis, showing that the conversational preferences of participants underscore an innate desire for relational closeness and informational support, while emotional support was shown to be predicted by conversational preferences insofar as it contributed to relational closeness. More importantly, the study findings imply that granting students the freedom to choose their preferred interaction partners has beneficial effects for subsequent processes of peer group development.