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ERIC Number: ED170034
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1979-Mar
Pages: 18
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Peer Acceptance and Social Skill Training: The Selection of Program Content.
Asher, Steven R.; And Others
This article reviews literature on peer acceptance of children and briefly discusses a study of the social skill correlates of peer acceptance. The importance of being able to form friendships for the child's later development and the importance of programs which maximize this ability are noted. There is a review of literature on programs which attempt to promote children's social relations by improving the social skills correlated with sociometric measures of social competence. The issue of deciding precisely which skills should be taught is discussed briefly. The problems of finding observable measures of social skills are explained. A method of studying social skills is proposed in which hypothetical social situations are presented to children (in pictures and stories) and the children are asked how they would deal with those situations. A study is described in which 65 high- and low-popularity kindergarteners were individually shown nine hypothetical situations. It was found that unpopular children were more likely to suggest physically aggressive responses, and were less resourceful than popular children. Additional analysis revealed that although the two groups did not differ in the assertiveness of responses, popular children's responses were rated as significantly more relationship-enhancing and more effective. The use of these strategies in social skill training programs is discussed. Three examples of the hypothetical situations are appended. (Author/BH)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Information Analyses; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (San Francisco, California, March 15-18, 1979)