Need for approval and popularity: Sex differences in elementary school students

Children's Social Desirability Scale (CSD) and a sociometric measure were group administered to 192 5th- and 6th-grade Ss. Intelligence and achievement scores were also obtained. High need for approval girls (as measured by CSD) were found to be most popular, while high need for approval boys were least popular. Partialing out the effects of intelligence did not significantly alter these sex differences. Sex role theory was used to explain the findings, hypothesizing that behaviors associated with a high need for approval are consistent with the female sex role model but contrary to the male model.