Children's beliefs about peers impact social behavior and relationships.
The study looked at how young children think about their relationships with peers and how this relates to their social behavior. They found that children's thoughts about their peers and themselves were linked to how well they could come up with social strategies. These thoughts also influenced how teachers rated the children's behavior, including being friendly, helpful, shy, or aggressive. The study suggests that how children think about their peers affects how they behave with them, especially in terms of being withdrawn.