Factors affecting the social ability in pre-school children: An exploratory study (original) (raw)

1994, Behavioural Processes

In a previous paper we quantified the social ability of preschool children by means of two Indices: Amplitude of Behaviour (I.A.B.) and Amplitude of Partnership (I.A.P.). The aim of this study is to explore their possible relations with some agents of socialisation and to validate these indices of amplitude as a measure of social ability. The variables considered (biometrical measurements, family characteristics, and social behaviours in peer groups) were ordered by means of a prior analysis of the principal components, and the factor scores of each individual in these analyses were chosen as new variables. Twenty-six pre-school children attending a nursery in Cadiz (SW Spain) were filmed at school during their free-play period. Our results confirm the fitness of the Index of Amplitude of Behaviour (I.A.B.) not only as a useful tool for the study of socialisation, but also as a possible predictor of later success and social adjustment. 210 cognitive development, and enculturation . Socialisation implies, above all, the acquisition and internalisation of behavioural patterns, beliefs, and rules of the society into which the child is being socialised .