Stability and flexibility in preschoolers' social networks: a dynamic analysis of socially directed behavior allocation

The author studied preschoolers' social networks by investigating the allocation of children's social investment within and across time in a classroom of a French nursery school during an academic year. Observations of children's social exchanges during free play revealed that social behaviors were directed toward particular group members. After an important turnover in the peer group at the beginning of the school year, the social network became more structured. Children's strong associations were mostly same sex and small sized. Even if the stability of children's connections remained low, it increased over time. High-frequency partners as well as same-sex partners were more likely to be maintained over time. These findings as well as conceptual and methodological issues are discussed from a developmental perspective.