Peer Interaction Competencies of Preschoolers Rated High or Low in Sociometric Status
Ciccone, Joan Mary
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/65980
Description
Title
Peer Interaction Competencies of Preschoolers Rated High or Low in Sociometric Status
Author(s)
Ciccone, Joan Mary
Issue Date
1980
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Early Childhood
Language
eng
Abstract
Problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactions of children who are more or less competent with their peers in terms of several behavioral variables including frequency and duration of interactions, variety of strategies used, positive and negative affect, and persistence in ineffective strategies.
Hypotheses. It was hypothesized that peer-competent children would initiate interactions more frequently and sustain them for longer durations than less peer-competent children; that competent children would use a wider variety of behaviors during social interactions, would be less likely to persist in ineffective strategies, and would use more positive behaviors than did less skilled children. Less peer-competent children were expected to use negative strategies more often than did more skilled children.
Procedure. A sociometric rating technique was used to select 40 subjects, 20 male and 20 female, from a subject pool of 71 four-year-old in four preschool classrooms. Average ratings allowed the children within each classroom and sex group to be rank-ordered, and the highest and lowest thirds were designated high and low in "peer-competence" respectively. High- and low-rated children were each paired with a partner of the same sex and competence-rating, and videotaped during a ten-minute play session in a mobile van equipped with preschool materials. Each dyad participated in two tasks: one, a housebuilding task, encouraged cooperation; the other was a free play period. The videotapes were transcribed and the transcripts were divided into conversations, social exchanges, and utterances. The latter were then classified into categories of communicative intentions and measures of each of the six dependent variables were obtained.
Results. Two hypotheses were supported in relation to the children's competence. High-rated children interacted for longer periods of time than did low-rated children. The more skilled children also used a greater proportion of positive utterances than did less skilled children. There were no significant differences in the variety of strategies used, the proportion of negative utterances, persistence in ineffective strategies or the frequency of initiating interactions due to the competence of the children.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
