Information Processing and Children's Social Development

本研究的目的是了解社会认知技能和偏见在儿童社会适应不良发展中的作用。这些技能和偏见包括对他人意图的准确识别，将敌意归因于他人的倾向，为人际问题提供许多称职解决方案的能力，以及预测自己行为后果的能力。假设：1)这些技能和偏见在儿童体内是稳定的，因此代表着个性特征；2)表现出技能缺陷和偏见的儿童很可能是社交失调的；3)表现出技能缺陷和偏见的儿童有可能在以后的社会和学校适应不良，特别是在过渡到中学期间。对一年级、二年级和三年级的259名男孩和女孩进行了两年的跟踪调查，并将继续跟踪调查三年。对每个儿童的社会认知技能和偏见的评估每年都会收集，并将每年收集。每年将收集社会和学校适应不良的衡量标准，包括攻击性行为问题、精神症状、学校纪律处分和其他形式的偏差的评级。本研究将进一步加深我们对儿童中期社会认知发展的理解。这一发现可能为旨在改善儿童社交认知技能的干预提供经验基础，以此作为预防社交和学校适应不良的一种方式。

The aim of this research is to understand the role of social cognitive skills and biases in the development of social maladjustment in children. These skills and biases include the accurate recognition of others' intentions, the tendency to attribute hostile intent to others, the ability to generate many competent solutions to interpersonal problems, and the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own behavior. It is hypothesized that: 1) these skills and biases are stable across time within a child, thus representing personality.like characteristics; 2) children who display skill deficits and biases are likely to be socially maladjusted; and 3) children who display skill deficits and biases are at risk for later social and school maladjustment, particularly during the transition to middle school. A sample of 259 boys and girls in grades 1, 2, and 3 have been followed for two years and will continue to be followed for an additional three years. Assessments of social cognitive skills and biases have been collected each year on each child and will be collected yearly. Measures of social and school maladjustment will be collected yearly, including ratings of aggressive behavior problems, psychiatric symptoms, school disciplinary action, and other forms of deviance. This research will further our understanding of social cognitive development during middle childhood. The findings could form the empirical base for an intervention aimed at improving children's social cognitive skills as a way of preventing social and school maladjustment.