Although many studies have examined the competencies associated with being well-liked by the peer group, far less is known about the competencies children need in order to make and maintain good quality friendships. This study addressed friendship tasks, investigating 5 of 10 previously hypothesized competencies necessary to make and maintain good…

As increasingly younger children exhibit spiraling social behavior problems, researchers are focusing on the role of family dynamics in these problems. For this study, investigators explored the relationship between problem-solving skills and verbal comprehension in children from distressed families. Twenty-nine children, ages 4 to 8, completed…

This paper asserts that teachers need to understand the logic of young children's behavior in their joint play and in their conflicts in order to respond sensitively, and that children construct logic-in-action (procedural knowledge) long before they are able to verbalize their logic in narratives. The basic assumption of the paper is that there…

This outline presents a program designed to teach children "how" to think, not what to think--so as to help them solve typical interpersonal problems with peers and adults. Through games, stories, puppets, illustrations, and role plays, children learn a pre-problem solving vocabulary, feeling word concepts, and ways to arrive at solutions to…

To ensure that children will be able to learn to resolve interpersonal conflicts, teachers need to examine the ways in which they resolve conflicts with the young children under their care. Teachers also need to ensure that children: (1) possess environments where they trust that they will be safe and well-cared for; (2) develop a sense of…