Sex typing in play and popularity in middle childhood

Sex differences in play behavior across the early elementary school years as well as the relation between sex-typed play and peer acceptance were examined. It was hypothesized that children who were more sex-typed in their play behaviors would be more accepted by their peers. The participants included 86 grade two children and 81 grade four children. Popularity was assessed using a rating scale sociometric measure. Sex-typed behaviors were measured by observing the children at free play. Results indicated significant age and gender differences in children's play behavior. Specifically, boys engaged in more aggressive and rough and tumble play as well as more functional, solitary-dramatic and exploratory play and tended to be involved more in group play, whereas girls produced more parallel and constructive play as well as more peer conversations. In grade 4, these differences were maximized such that boys produced more games-with-rules and girls exhibited more parallel-constructive activity. Second, results indicated that sociometric ratings and observed degree of sex-typing were not significantly related except in the case of fourth grade males. At the fourth grade level, a positive relation was observed between boys' acceptance by male peers and “masculine” or male-preferred play behavior as well as between boys' acceptance by female peers and “feminine” or female-preferred play.     

The social behaviours of inhibited children in and out of preschool

The goal of the present study was to explore the social behaviours of inhibited children in familiar social contexts, including: (1) free play with peers at preschool and (2) social activities at home and in the community. The initial participants were N =248 preschool children between the ages of 42 and 66 months. From this initial data, two smaller groups of inhibited (N =12) and uninhibited comparison (N =12) children were identified. These children were observed during free play at preschool and parents completed daily logs of children's social activities outside of school. Among the findings, inhibited children were observed to display more reticent (on looking, unoccupied) and anxious behaviours during free play preschool than uninhibited children. As well, inhibited children participated less in structured social activities outside school and were more likely to engage in dyadic play at home with a single friend as compared to their uninhibited counterparts.     

The relationship of maternal beliefs about sex typing to maternal and young children's behavior

Possible links between maternal beliefs about children's sex-typed behavior and familial characteristics, mothers' interactions with their young children, and children's cognitive functioning were explored. One hundred and thirty-two mothers and their two-year-olds were seen; familial social class, birth order, and child gender were selection-criterion variables. Sex-typed beliefs were assessed by asking mothers to rate a number of qualities and interests as to whether or not each was more likely to occur in or be characteristic of boys or of girls, or was equally likely to be characteristic of boys and girls. Mothers rated qualities for two different age periods—toddlerhood and middle childhood. Mothers and toddlers were observed in a free play setting for 20 min. Responsivity and type of behavior emitted were assessed. The Bayley Scale of Infant Intelligence was given at 24 months. The findings were as follows: First, gender and social class were related to maternal beliefs about sex-typed characteristics. Second, maternal sex-typed beliefs were negatively related to active toy play and distal interaction, with this relationship significant for daughters but not sons. Third, daughters of low sex-typed mothers were more responsive and more likely to seek comfort than daughters of high sex-typed mothers. Fourth, daughters of mothers who had strong sex-typed beliefs had lower IQ scores at 24 months than did daughters of mothers with beliefs less strong; this relationship was not found for sons. Research on cross-sex behavior and enhanced cognitive functioning was reviewed as it relates to these findings.     

Children's appraisals of sex-typed behavior in their peers

Four experiments evaluated the effect of variations in sex-typed behavior in hypothetical peers on children's ratings of friendship. In all four studies, the children were heterogeneous with regard to social class, ethnicity, and race. In Experiment 1, children (71 boys, 90 girls) in Grades 3–6 read five stories about a target boy and in Experiment 2 (102 boys, 137 girls) about a target girl who displayed four sex-typed behaviors that ranged from exclusively masculine to exclusively feminine. In Experiment 1, boys preferred the exclusively masculine boy most as a friend. With each addition of a feminine behavior (and corresponding subtraction of a masculine behavior), the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In contrast, the girls preferred the exclusively feminine boy most as a friend and, with each addition of a masculine behavior, the friendship ratings became increasingly negative. In Experiment 2, the converse was found although girls' ratings of friendship were less sharply affected by the target girl's sex-typed behavior than was observed for boys' ratings in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, children (33 boys, 38 girls) in Grades K—2 were read three stories about a target boy, accompanied by detailed chromatic illustrations, whose four sex-typed behaviors were exclusively masculine, equally masculine and feminine, or exclusively feminine. The boys had significantly more favorable friendship ratings than the girls; however, in contrast to Experiments 1 and 2, the target boy's sex-typed behavior did not affect friendship ratings of either boys or girls. Experiment 4 (28 boys, 27 girls) repeated the procedure of Experiment 3 with children in kindergarten and Grade 1; in addition, the children made forced-choice friendship ratings for each of the three possible story pairs. In contrast to Experiment 3, boys' friendship ratings were affected by the target boy's sex-typed behavior, as observed in Experiment 1, but girls' friendship ratings were not. However, in the forced-choice situation, the boys significantly preferred the exclusively masculine boy whereas the girls significantly preferred the exclusively feminine boy. The results were discussed in relation to the influence sex-typed behavior has on modifying the effects of a peer's sex on affiliative preference and sex differences in appraisals of cross-gender behavior, including the concept of threshold effects.     

Effects of parent training on parent and child behavior using procedures based on functional analyses

We evaluated the effects of parent training for four children whose aberrant behaviors were maintained by social positive or negative reinforcement. Interventions were based on the behavioral function of the problem behavior. Child participants were four children (ages 3 to 5 years) who had developmental delays and exhibited significant aberrant behaviors (tantrums and aggression). The children's mothers were the parent participants. The children's behavior improved as a function of the parents' performance. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

母亲积极养育行为对儿童顺从行为的早期预测与双向作用:从婴儿到学步儿

顺从是儿童早期重要的社会化成就。传统理论关注父母控制策略对顺从的作用,但实证结果表明其解释率有限;当前理论更加关注积极养育行为在顺从发展中具有发展适宜性的作用机制。本研究采用追踪设计考察了84个家庭从儿童6个月到3岁时母亲的敏感性和鼓励自主两种积极养育行为与学步儿顺从发展的关系。结果表明:(1)1岁前母亲敏感性对学步儿2岁时的合作性顺从有正向预测作用,对2岁到3岁合作性顺从的变化没有预测作用;(2)1岁前母亲敏感性对学步儿2岁时的情境性顺从和2岁到3岁的情境性顺从的变化均有负向预测作用;(3)在2岁到3岁期间,母亲的鼓励自主与学步儿的合作性顺从水平有双向正向预测作用,但与情境性顺从不存在双向预测关系。     

Positive,Negative, and Neutral Peer Interactions as Indicators of Children's Social Competency: The Issue of Concurrent Validity

Many studies examining the effects of treatments for socially isolated/withdrawn children have used behavioral measures to assess children's peer relations. In an attempt to examine the concurrent validity of these measures, we observed 258 preschool children during free play and coded their interactions into the categories of positive, negative, and neutral behaviors. We also interviewed these children individually, using a sociometric nomination procedure, and asked them to indicate liked and disliked peers. Our examination of the results revealed that, consistent with other research, the correlation between the sociometric measures and the children's total rate of interaction with peers was low. In addition, measures of positive, negative, and neutral behaviors were also only weakly correlated with the children's sociometric scores. We agree with others in concluding that multiple methods of assessment are needed to properly assess the adequacy of children's peer relations.     

Possession Episodes in Young Children's Social Interactions

This naturalistic study examined the relationships between possession episodes and other social behaviors. Twenty children were observed in 240 social interactions that occurred during free play in their preschool classroom. The interactions were analyzed for behaviors related to possession, affiliation, prosociability, and aggression. The findings suggest that possession episodes are positively associated with agonistic behaviors and negatively related to positive social responses both situationally and dispositionally. First, disputes following possession claims frequently resulted in the termination or disruption of the social interaction. Moreover, a comparison between children's behaviors in interactions that contained a possession episode and in those that did not revealed that more aggression and fewer prosocial and affiliative behaviors occurred in the possession interactions. Second, in an analysis of individual social patterns, children who frequently engaged in possession disputes engaged in more aggressive actions and fewer affiliative ones than did their less possession-oriented classmates.     

TRAINING PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS TO YOUNG CHILDREN: AN ANALYSIS OF RECIPROCITY WITH UNTRAINED PEERS

We examined the effects of a social skills training package on the play behaviors of three young girls. Two children were taught to invite their peers to play and to use social amenities during their conversations with other children. A combined reversal and multiple baseline across responses design demonstrated that both children directed more social behaviors to their classroom peers after training and that these two children's play invitations were maintained in the later absence of experimental contingencies. In addition, both target children received a greater number of play invitations from their peers during the free play periods. In contrast, a third child's play invitations were not reciprocated by peers; her invitations subsequently decreased in rate after training was discontinued. An interdependent group contingency produced a reciprocal exchange of invitations between this child and her classroom peers. A reversal design demonstrated partial maintenance of subject-peer exchanges after the group intervention was discontinued. The results obtained with the three target children suggest that peer reciprocity may facilitate the maintenance of children's play invitations over time.     

EFFECTS OF SELF-EVALUATION ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S USE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION STRATEGIES WITH THEIR CLASSMATES WITH AUTISM

This study investigated effects of a self-evaluation procedure on preschool children's use of social interaction strategies among their classmates with autism. Three triads of children (comprised of 1 trained normally developing peer, 1 untrained peer, and 1 child with autism) participated. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to demonstrate that peers who were taught facilitative strategies increased their use of strategies only after the self-evaluation intervention was introduced. Improvements in social behavior of children with autism was associated with peers' increased strategy use. Untrained peers demonstrated little change in their social behavior. Treatment effects were replicated when trained peers were asked to use self-evaluation with other children with autism during other play times. Self-evaluation procedures enhanced the use of social interaction strategies on the part of normally developing peers during social skills interventions.     

USING PRESCHOOL MATERIALS TO MODIFY THE LANGUAGE OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN1

Although language remediation programs have generally been conducted with the use of special materials in structured group settings, traditional preschool practice emphasizes “incidental teaching” incorporated into children's free play. To determine if incidental teaching practices could be effective in improving children's speech, this study investigated the spontaneous speech of 12 disadvantaged children during free-play periods over eight months of a preschool program. Whenever the children selected a preschool play material, they were prompted and required to ask for it, first by name (noun), then by name plus a word that described the material (adjective-noun combination), then by use of a color adjective-noun combination, and finally by requesting the material and describing how they were going to use it (compound sentence). As each requirement was made, the children's general use of that aspect of language markedly increased, but little change was noted in the amount or nature of the children's interactions with teachers or their use of a set of materials to which they had free access. This study demonstrates that preschool free-play periods can be powerful “incidental teaching” periods by capitalizing on moments when children seek new play materials.     

Parental facilitation of children's preparatory play behavior in a stressful situation

Parental behavior has often been cited as a crucial factor in children's ability to cope with stress. However, there has been little study of ways parents help their children adjust to stressful life events. In the present study, 34 parents and children (ages 4–9) were observed preparing for a stressful life event (elective surgery). Parents were asked to prepare their children for the upcoming stress and were given stress-related hospital equipment to use with their child. Specific hypotheses were selected to study the relationships of five parent helping behaviors to children's active preparatory play with stress-relevant materials. Children's preparatory play alone and with an examiner were also observed to test for effects of children on their parents' helping behavior. As expected, parent helping behaviors were significantly related to children's active preparatory play. With the exception of highly directive behavior, however, the relationship of parent helping behavior to child play was dependent on the child's age. This study suggests the importance of further investigating parental involvement in studying the process of children's coping with stress.     

SOLITARY TOY PLAY AND TIME OUT: A FAMILY TREATMENT PACKAGE FOR CHILDREN WITH AGGRESSIVE AND OPPOSITIONAL BEHAVIOR

The behavior of four boys, 5 to 8 years of age, who were referred for a number of oppositional, rule violating, and aggressive behaviors, was assessed by direct observation and parent reports. Following baseline measurement, several interventions were successively applied to each child's behavior. Use of a social play contract to reduce problem behaviors by teaching appropriate social behaviors resulted either in no improvement or in worsening of the problem behaviors in observations made when the contract was not in effect. Changing the contract behavior to solitary toy play resulted in reduced oppositional behavior during the observation sessions, fewer reports from the parents of low-rate problem behaviors, and improvements in the parents' attitudes toward the children. However, these changes during the observation sessions were shortlived, because the data on these measures began to show a reversal during later sessions. Inclusion of a time-out contingency with the solitary play contract recovered the earlier improvements in the children's behavior during observation sessions and the parents' reports. These results gave support to the view that for children whose behavior is severely oppositional and aggressive, a treatment approach emphasizing productive, solitary behaviors may be superior to one stressing appropriate social interaction. However, a combined strategy of reinforcement for solitary play and punishment for problem behaviors appears necessary to ensure more durable treatment effects.     

INCREASING AUTISTIC CHILDREN'S SPONTANEOUS VERBALIZATIONS OF AFFECTION: AN ASSESSMENT OF TIME DELAY AND PEER MODELING PROCEDURES

We assessed the efficacy of time delay and peer modeling procedures in increasing autistic children's spontaneous verbalizations of affection. Four autistic children were taught to spontaneously say “I like (love) you” in response to a hug from a familiar person and their mother. Generalization from a free play training setting to free play outdoors and at home was assessed. Ancillary social and affection behaviors were also observed. Results indicated that the time delay was a quick and effective procedure for all the children. Peer modeling was unsuccessful in teaching the target behavior.     

Preschool Children's Collaborative Problem-Solving Interactions: The Role of Gender,Pair Type,and Task

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills in preschool children. Children between 4 and 5 years of age completed 3 problem-solving tasks with either a same-sex or a different-sex peer. Children's verbal and nonverbal interactions were analyzed. Girls used mitigation more often than did boys. Mixed-sex dyads engaged in controlling verbal interactions more often than same-sex dyads. There were relationships between verbal and nonverbal behaviors and task success; these relationships also differed across pair types. The results of the study demonstrate that the gender differences in types of verbal interactions previously observed in preschool children's free play are also present in their problem-solving interactions and that children are able to alter the types of behaviors they use depending upon both partner gender and the type of task involved.     

Adults' beliefs about children and mathematics: how important is it and how do children learn about it?

A series of studies was conducted which focused on US adults' beliefs about the relative importance of acquiring mathematical skills for preschool children and about how children acquire these skills. In Study 1, adults rated general information, reading and social skills as all being more important than mathematical skills. They also claimed that parents have the most influence on preschool children's learning regardless of content area. In Study 2, the parents of kindergarten children also rated reading, general information and social skills as all being more important than mathematics in preparing children for the first grade. The more important parents felt mathematics were, the more they reported engaging in a variety of mathematical-related activities with their children. However, the importance they placed on mathematics was not related to their child's actual mathematical performance. In summary, adults seem to value mathematics less than other skills in preparing young children to enter elementary school. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of an adult's presence on the social behavior of preschool children

The social behavior of same-sex pairs of nursery school children was observed during two ten-minute play sessions. One half of the pairs played alone during both sessions, and the remaining pairs played in the presence of a passive adult supervisor. Child pairs who played alone were significantly less aggressive and exhibited a moderate but nonsignificant increase in the expression of positive or prosocial behaviors. Unsupervised pairs also tended to verbalize more and engaged in significantly more cooperative play. The absence of adults may encourage children to employ more mature social strategies to achieve a successful relationship with their playmates.     

母亲养育压力与学前儿童社会适应的关系及其性别差异：一项交叉滞后分析

本研究采用交叉滞后的研究设计探讨母亲养育压力与学前儿童社会适应的相互作用关系,选取上海市两所公办幼儿园202名幼儿及其母亲进行为期一年的追踪调查。结果表明：（1）母亲养育压力与男孩的外化问题行为可以相互预测,与女孩外化问题行为相互预测不显著;（2)母亲养育压力与幼儿社会能力可以相互预测;（3）母亲养育压力不能显著预测幼儿内化问题行为,但内化问题可以显著预测母亲养育压力。母亲养育压力与学前儿童社会适应存在相互作用关系,且在幼儿外化问题行为上存在性别差异。