Modifying social withdrawal in preschoolers: The effects of filmed modeling and teacher praise

Thirteen social isolates were selected from five nursery schools according to teacher ratings and behavioral samples obtained by trained observers. Half the subjects were randomly assigned to a modeling group and viewed a 23-minute film depicting appropriate social behavior in the nursery school. The remainder of the subjects viewed the same film, but also received 2 days of teacher praise contingent on the subject's peer interaction in his classroom. Modeling was inferred to successfully modify isolate behavior with or without praise. The modeling plus praise condition was not significantly different from modeling only for children's social interactions. General proximity response scores appeared to be detrimentally affected by the praise contingency during posttest assessment only. At followup, all subjects maintained or improved their posttest interaction scores.Gratitude is expressed to the administrators and teachers at the Jewish Community Center of Syracuse and the Syracuse University Cooperative Nursery School.