Computer-Assisted Violence Prevention in Kindergarten

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请建议开发综合情感训练（CAT）计划，这是一种针对学前班和幼儿园年龄儿童的互动式多媒体预防课程。对这种产品的需求源于美国社会暴力和其他犯罪行为的惊人流行。在生命早期缺乏社会和情感知识的儿童往往会被同龄人排斥，这反过来又使他们更有可能形成根深蒂固的、倾向于暴力的思维和行为模式。为了避免这种发展轨迹，专家们主张建立预防方案，重点是学前阶段的社会和情感技能。然而，主要是由于成本和广泛的培训要求，绝大多数学前班和幼儿园年龄的儿童没有机会获得这种类型的编程。为了帮助解决这个问题，本申请提出将关于情感知识的最新发现和理论与多媒体计算机技术相结合。以儿童为中心的计划将通过一个引人入胜的格式提供，包括动画和视频，以及个性化的反馈和辅助后续练习将由家长和教师进行。成人部分也是为家长和教师设计的，将由一系列音频文件组成，演示通过电话或互联网提供的成人与儿童的“情感指导”对话。第二阶段的开发工作将包括一个刺激验证研究，一系列的可用性研究，和最终程序的生产。最后的程序，然后将在学校为基础的设置，探索性的情境研究，检查使用CAT程序在家庭为基础的设置，并接受测试，涉及教师，家长和儿童的实验性现场试验。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes development of the Comprehensive Affective Training (CAT) program, an interactive, multimedia-based prevention curriculum for Pre-K and Kindergarten age children. The need for this product arises from the alarming prevalence of violence and other delinquent behaviors in American society. Children with inadequate social and emotional knowledge early in life tend to be rejected by peers, which, in turn, places them at greater risk for the development of entrenched, violence-prone patterns of thought and behavior. To avoid this developmental trajectory, experts advocate the creation of prevention programming focusing on social and emotional skills during the preschool years. However, mostly due to cost and extensive training requirements, the vast majority of Pre-K and Kindergarten age children do not have access to this type of programming. To help address this issue, the current application proposes combining the latest findings and theories on emotional knowledge with multimedia computer technology. The child-focused program will be delivered through an engaging format involving animation and video, as well as personalized feedback and adjunct follow-up exercises to be conducted by parents and teachers. Also intended for parents and teachers, the adult component will consist of a series of audio files demonstrating sample adult-child, "emotion coaching" dialogues delivered over the phone or internet. The Phase II development effort will include a stimulus validation study, a series of usability studies, and production of the final program. The final program will then be subject to an experimental field trial in a school-based setting, an exploratory situational study examining use of the CAT program in a home-based setting, and acceptance testing involving teachers, parents, and children.