Entry Process into the Play Group of Preschooler.

Abstract

This study concerned peer group entry 28 behavior during two stages : play group participation, and play group integration. Thirty-four preschool children took part in free play interactions, in triads composed of good friends. Analyses focused on videotaped behavior from the first and second halves of play sequences, as one child from each triad ("newcomer") entered into play interacrons with the other two ("hosts"). In the first half only, hosts were more likely to give information than newcomers ; newcomers were more likely to receive information than hosts. In addition, hosts gave more information in the first than second half, while newcomers received more information in the first half than the second. These and other findings suggest that the study of integration into the play group may reveal behavioral factors related to successful peer group entry.