Prospective associations of prosocial behavior and aggression with social preference: Moderation by classroom levels of peer-perceived liking and disliking by the teacher

The goal of this study was to examine the prospective associations of prosocial behavior and aggression with social preference in classrooms and whether these associations were moderated by classroom levels of peer-perceived liking and disliking by the teacher. Participants were 2900 fourth-to sixth-grade students in South Korea (Mage = 10.02 years, SD = 0.84, 48.6% girls) who completed peer nominations at the beginning (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of their school year. The peer nominations included who they liked most and liked least in their classroom, who they saw as prosocial and aggressive, and who they thought was liked and disliked by their teacher. Nominations received were calculated for all individual students. To indicate the classroom levels of peer-perceived liking and disliking by the teacher, we calculated the total number of nominations given in the classroom and divided it by the maximum possible nominations. Multilevel analyses were conducted. At the level of the individual, social preference at Time 2 was positively predicted by prosocial behavior and negatively by aggression at Time 1, controlling for social preference at Time 1. These associations were moderated by the peer reputation as liked and disliked by the teacher. At the level of the classroom, social preference at Time 2 tended to increase over time in classrooms with high levels of peer-perceived liking by the teacher but decreased in classrooms with high levels of peer-perceived disliking by the teacher. Classroom levels of peer-perceived liking by the teacher moderated the positive association of prosocial behavior at Time 1 with preference at Time 2: this association was stronger in classrooms with higher levels of peer-perceived liking by the teacher. Thus, classroom levels of peer-perceived liking by the teacher had positive effects for individual students and the classroom as a whole. Future studies should address how teacher–student relationships can contribute to a positive classroom context that facilitates students’ well-being, learning, and development.