Social Information Processing in Preschool Children: Relations to Social Interaction

Authors : Fatma Betül Şenol, Emine Metin

Pages : 124-138

Doi:10.17275/per.21.82.8.4

View : 30 | Download : 17

Publication Date : 2021-12-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :The Social Information Processing Process Model consists of organizing the social adaptation and behavior of children in line with their responses to the social situations they encounter with their peers in their daily lives. The Social Information Processing Model affects children's ability to interact with their peers, their level of interaction, and provides information about the structure of interaction. In this direction, it was aimed to examine the relationship between social information processing and social interaction skills of 60-72 month-old children. The study was designed in relational screening model. The study group of the research consisted of 250 children, between 60 - 72 months, with normal development in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The Social Information Processing Interview–Preschool Version and Children's Interaction Rating Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. The data were collected by reading stories with children, asking questions about the story and observation. Since no normal distribution was observed in the analysis of the data, Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation Test was used. As a result of the study, there was a statistically significant and positive relationship between "interpretation, response diversification, response decision", which were sub-dimensions of Social Information Processing Interview and "cooperation, self-control, assertiveness”, sub-dimensions of the Interaction Rating Scale for Children. This situation can be evaluated as children who make positive comments in social situations they encounter, who create positive reactions and react positively, are more cooperative in the context of social interaction, have a strong sense of self-control, and their assertiveness skills are high.
Keywords : social information processing, social interaction, preschool children