Peer Interaction in Same- and Mixed-Age Triads in Relation to Chronological Age and Incentive Condition

GRAZIANO, WILLIAM; FRENCH, DORAN; BROWNELL, CELIA A.; and H.ARTUP, WILLARD W. Peer Interaction in Sameand Mixed-Age Triads in Relation to Chronological Age and Incentive Condition. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 707-714. Task performance was compared in sameand mixed-age triads of firstand third-grade children. Half the triads worked for individual rewards, while the remainder worked for group rewards. Considered as units, the mixed-age triads performed as well as the same-age triads, although there was more conversation in the latter. Considered in terms of individual performance, mixed-age conditions produced different effects at the 2 grade levels. Mixed-age conditions stimulated greater task activity than same-age conditions among the third graders, but not among the first graders. Performance was better with group than with individual rewards, but the effects of age mixture did not depend on incentive condition.