Record Details
Peer acceptance and interaction of preschool children
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Peer acceptance and interaction of preschool children |
| Names |
Winston, Nancy Josephine
(creator) Massey, Mary (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1971-08-11 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1972 |
| Abstract | The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between social acceptance and observed peer interaction in a select group of preschool children. The subjects were 30 children enrolled in two sessions of a child development laboratory sponsored by the Department of Family Life at Oregon State University. The 15 children in the morning session, eight boys and seven girls, ranged in age from three years-eight months to four years-three months. The 15 children in the afternoon session, seven boys and eight girls, ranged in age from three years-six months to four years-five months. The data consisted of a social acceptance score taken from a picture sociometric interview and observed behavior frequencies recorded on the Social Interaction Scale (SIS). Peer interactions observed include aggresive-hostile peer interaction and cooperative- friendly peer interaction. The statistical analysis employed was the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (r[subscript s]) method. The specific null hypothesis explored was: There will be no relationship between social acceptance and a) aggressive-hostile peer interaction b) cooperative-friendly peer interaction c) total frequency of peer interaction The correlation coefficients found between social acceptance and aggressive-hostile peer interaction in the morning session were positive and significant when analyzed for the sexes combined. A negligible correlation coefficient (r[subscript ]s .035) was indicated for boys and data revealed a tendency toward an inverse relationship (r[subscript s] -. 471) for morning girls. Negative, nonsignificant correlation coefficients were found for the afternoon session when the variables of social acceptance and aggressive-hostile peer interation were analyzed for sexes combined and for boys and girls separately. An r[subscript s] of .686 indicated a positive significant correlation coefficient existing for the afternoon session when the variables of social acceptance and cooperative-friendly peer interaction were analyzed for sexes combined. No further significant correlation coefficients were shown for the afternoon session when analyzed by sex groupings. The correlation coefficients found for the morning session although negligible were in a negative direction. The Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficients calculated for the variables of social acceptance and total frequency of peer interaction were found to be significant only for the afternoon session. A positive significant correlation coefficient, r[subscript s].454, was found in the analysis for the sexes combined and a negative significant relationship, r[subscript s]-.789, was found for boys. The correlation coefficient for the girls was negligible. No significant correlation coefficients were indicated for the morning session although there was a tendency toward a negative relationship when the session was analyzed for sexes combined and for girls. These findings indicate a need for further study of the relationship between social acceptance and observed peer interactions. The nature of the data collected in the present study provides avenues for further research. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Child development |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/45769 |
