Siblings’ strategies for resolving conflict over television program choice

Abstract

Children from 115 pairs of siblings were interviewed about the strategies they would use to get their siblings to watch a program and their perceptions of the strategies their siblings would use with them. Results showed that conflict resolution over programs is not unpleasant or difficult for most children. Differences in power of strategies (high or low power) between boys and girls were evident. The children were not accurate in their assessments of each other's strategy choices. Implications for future study of the sibling coviewing environment are discussed.

Key concepts:

• Siblings
• conflict
• television viewing