The authors review several case studies of children engaged in rule-governed play and conclude that the process of learning rules--and of breaking them and making new ones--promotes what they call gamesmanship. They link the development of gamesmanship to the theory of Machiavellian intelligence, which considers social interaction primary in the…

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between abilities to initiate and respond to joint attention and symptoms of autism that have, and have not, been theoretically linked to joint attention. Participants were 51 boys and five girls with autistic disorder, aged between 2 years and 6 years 5 months. Measures of joint attention…

The author suggests dealing with the problem of adolescent sexual behavior through accurate information and wide knowledge of all aspects of human sexual behavior and skill in problem solving. (Author/BY)

Describes the structure of spontaneous episodes of dyadic play and suggests some of the basic abilities which underlie social play, based on observation of 36 15-20 minute videotaped play sessions involving groups of three children each, ages 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years. (ED)

A review of play in nonhuman animals indicates that play increases with phylogenetic status, is important for mature social development in more advanced species, reflects intentional activity, and is essential for the development of tool-using strategies. (Author)

This study investigated the duration, frequency, and trajectory of passive behavior in 14 children (developmental age 1-3) with Down syndrome and 14 controls over a 47-minute independent play session. Subjects exhibited more time in passive behavior and for some, passivity increased commensurate with time spent in the play session. (Contains…

Examines some of the conditions associated with dissolution of the friendship tie. Subjects were 232 boys and girls between the ages of eight and 15 at a summer camp. The hypothesis that reduction in social interaction would be associated with increased probability of dissolution was not conclusively supported. (Author/HMV)

Explored the simultaneous sequential transition patterns of preschoolers' social play within classroom settings. Found that the proportion of social-play states did not vary during play episodes even when accounting for type of activity center, gender, and SES. Found a reciprocal relationship between parallel-aware and other social-play states…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of group size on toddlers' peer interactions and social interactions with mothers. In particular, the study sought to answer the following questions: (1) When both mothers and peers are available to the child, with whom does he/she prefer to play? and (2) Are there differences in the types of…

A method for direct observation study of early peer-social and object directed behavior in humans was designed to articulate with techniques widely used in studies of social behavior of infra-human primates. Occurrence of behavior fitting the definitions of each of six categories of object behavior and nine categories of social behavior is noted…

Identifies reliable mother action-child reaction patterns and assesses the effect of maternal consequences for those patterns on the probability of their subsequent occurrence. (HOD)

Examined the effects of different forms of induction on children's prosocial behavior with 80 children ages 7 and 8 years. Hypotheses were evaluated regarding the cognitive component of the induction and the manipulation of choice. The findings, which were consistent with self-perception theory, help clarify when induction encourages internalized…

Examined the incidence of "romantic" dyads, same-sex friendship dyads, and cross-sex friendship dyads in preschools and day-care centers. Behavior patterns that characterize these dyads are described. It is maintained that results suggest that there are romances between preschoolers. (BG)

Discusses observations of sets of infant twins, aged 6 to 24 months, as they interacted with one another and with an unfamiliar peer. Assesses quality of infant-mother attachment. Finds twins are more likely to react with one another than with a peer. Results are discussed in relation to early peer relationships and attachment. (Author/RWB)

Study suggests that an important social stimulus is the sex of the child's peers. Peer sex and changes in the sex composition of dyads affect the frequency of occurrence in several categories of social behavior. (Authors/CB)