Effects of group socialization procedures on the social interactions of preschool children

We investigated the effects of group socialization procedures on the social behavior of preschool children in two studies. Group socialization procedures consisted of teachers using antecedent and consequent events to promote social interaction during children's games. During intervention, teachers discussed friendship with the children and then prompted and praised child-child social responding within the context of games. Children's social behavior was assessed during two sessions, group game periods (i.e., intervention sessions) and nonintervention play periods (i.e., generalization sessions). In both studies, a multiple baseline design across two target children and peers in their respective group was used to evaluate the effects of group socialization procedures. During group game periods, after intervention, target children increased their rates of both prompted and unprompted social interactions with peers. Also, in nonintervention play periods, target children improved both the rate and the duration of their social responding with peers. Results indicated that group socialization procedures were a practical and effective method for improving young children's social interaction during both structured games and unstructured play activities.