A majority of U.S. children attend some type of child care before entering kindergarten. The quality of child care environment and of teacher-child interactions appear to influence children's development, but little attention has been paid to the influence of child-care peers. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort,…

Research Findings: Utilizing a 3-part model of emotion socialization that included modeling, contingent responding, and teaching, this study examined the associations between 44 teachers' self-reported and observed emotion socialization practices and 326 preschoolers' emotion knowledge and observed emotional behavior. Multilevel analyses…

This chapter identifies three common pitfalls in the use of the concept of empathy in formal social-emotional learning interventions: (1) not distinguishing between affective and cognitive empathy ("equivocation"); (2) overestimating the role of the imagination in empathizing ("Piaget's fallacy"); and (3) not accommodating the developmental and…

The author presents findings from an Australian study examining the behavioral correlates and stability of social status among preschool-aged children. Using sociometric assessment, the author determined the social status of an initial sample of 187 preschool-aged children (94 boys, 93 girls; M age = 62.4 months, SD age = 4.22 months). The author…

Social-emotional behavior of 352 3- and 4-year-olds attending private childcare and Head Start programs was observed using the Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist, Revised (MPAC-R). Goals of the investigation included (a) using MPAC-R data to extract a shortened version, MPAC-R/S, comparing structure, internal consistency, test-retest…

Background: Parents' expression of positive emotion towards children who are typically developing (TD) is generally associated with better social development. However, the association between parents' negative emotion expression and social development can be positive or negative depending upon a number of factors, including the child's emotion…

The current study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations between maternal negative affective behaviour and child negative emotional expression in preschool age children with (n=96) or without (n=126) an early developmental risk, as well as the predictions of later behaviour problems. Maternal negative affective behaviour, child…

Temperament is important for considering differences among diagnostic groups and for understanding individual differences that predict problematic behavior. Temperament characteristics, such as negative affectivity, effortful control, and surgency (highly active and impulsive), are predictive of externalizing behavior in typically developing…

Warm and responsive parenting is optimal for child development, but this style of parenting may be difficult for some parents to achieve. This study examines how parents' observed warmth and their reported frequency of parent-child activities were related to children's classifications as having biological risks or a range of disability indicators.…

This research examined the emotion recognition abilities of preschoolers with and without hyperactivity and aggression. Previous research identified that school age children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have more difficulty understanding facial expressions associated with emotions, take longer than their age-matched peers…

This study investigated the relationship between children's ability to regulate emotions and display of appropriate behavior in social settings. A sample of 33 children representing a wide range of social economic status was randomly selected from a Head Start Program and an Early Childhood Development Center in the Midwest. Data were collected…

Examined how aspects of social-emotional learning (SEL)--specifically, emotion knowledge, emotional and social behaviors, social problem-solving, and self-regulation--clustered to typify groups of children who differ in terms of their motivation to learn, participation in the classroom, and other indices of early school adjustment and academic…

Previously we found in preschool that child-directed pretend play in small playing groups importantly improves cognitive competence in mixed-age environment and that the effect is based on close coupling between affective and cognitive domain. To foster affective and cognitive intertwining, it is reasonable to select the most favored pretend plays…

Teachers were trained to use reinforcement and induction to increase prosocial behavior in a sample of 98 children in Head Start-affiliated preschools, using a peer coaching model. There was one control group and three intervention groups: reinforcement-only, induction-only, and reinforcement-and-induction. Results indicated that the intervention…

This study examines how young girls construct emotional themes in their peer-culture play routines and rituals in the daily life of a preschool classroom. This research is part of a larger eight-month ethnographic study of one preschool classroom. The data selected and analysed in this article are taken from a focused six-week theoretical sampling…