The present study will shed light on peer interaction and children's positioning in preschool. Theoretically, the study takes its point of departure from the concept of interpretive reproduction, which stresses the importance of children's collective actions and participation in cultural production and reproduction. Positioning refers to how…

Sixteen children with developmental disabilities and 32 nondisabled children (all between 1.5 and 4.5 years of age) were placed in either a same- or mixed-age grouping of 6 children. Observation six months later showed that children in mixed-age groups took more conversational turns with partners with disabilities than did children in same-age…

The Infant-Infant Contact Code, developed to observe the social behavior in infants, is described. Results from using this scale with nine infants under nine months indicated that contacts between infants are complex in nature, that there are developmental changes in models of encounter, and that babies take different roles in relation to the…

The purpose of this paper was to explore the age-segregation of U.S. children in two situations--children's spontaneous groups and adult-organized activities--and to examine the developmental changes in children's companionship between infancy and adolescence. The companionship of 400 urban children ranging in age from 1 to 12 years was determined…

This study was designed to identify aggressive actions in 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old infants and to investigate what type of responses these actions elicit in peers. Nine infants were observed and videotaped in interaction with each other and with toys. The focus was on four 18-month-olds observed in two sessions, one with an older child, the…

This study examined the relationship between the frequency of adult/peer interactions of preschool children and their perceptual role-taking ability. (CM)

This study was conducted to examine the developmental patterns in young children's ability to use others as a resource in problem-solving situations and to compare the roles that mothers and same-age peers play as resources for children in such situations. A total of 48 middle-class 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children participated in the study with…

This essay attempts to describe how age relations are important to the social behavior of preschool children. Major behaviors examined are sociability, friendship, aggression, and dominance. Imitation, cognitive development, social cognition, nurturance, and prosocial behavior are also briefly considered. (Author/SJL)

This research describes the attempts of 24 male and 24 female Kikuyu children (aged 2-9 years) to persuade other Kikuyu children and adults to comply to their demands. Examined was the sequence of behaviors beginning when a child encountered a noncompliant response from a target, and continuing until the child either gained compliance or gave up…

Presents a developmental study of bargaining between two children. Subjects were 60 boys and girls ranging in age from 4 to 15 years. (BD)

This study is an attempt to apply ethological tools of observation and analysis to the social behavior of 25 communally-reared children, ages 6 months to 4 years. The focus of this analysis is aggression and dominance relations. Findings indicate that: (1) agonistic behavior reveals stable and linear dominance hierarchies for children from 6…

Descriptive data on a wide range of family day care homes and on children's experiences within those homes were obtained in this study. Additionally investigated were the effects on caregiver and child behavior of six central family day care issues: (1) home regulatory status, (2) number and age mix of children, (3) regional differences, (4)…

This paper presents two studies of the development of social competencies in infancy. In the first experiment, the central issue investigated was whether facial configuration or height is utilized by infants to respond differentially to children and adults. Five different strangers, a male and a female child, a male and a female adult, and a small…