title: On the relation between social information processing and socially competent behavior in early school-aged children.
abstract: This article tested the hypotheses that (1) children's behavioral competence is a function of patterns of social information processing; (2) processing correlates of behavior occur at each of 5 steps of processing within each of 3 social situations; (3) measures at each step uniquely increment each other in predicting behavior; (4) the relation between processing and behavior is stronger within than across domains; and (5) processing patterns are more sophisticated among older than younger children and the processing-behavior relation is stronger among older than younger children. Videorecorded stimuli were used to assess processing patterns (encoding, interpretational errors and bias, response generation, response evaluation, and enactment skill) in 3 domains (peer group entry, response to provocation, and response to authority directive) in 259 first-, second-, and third-grade boys and girls (ages 6-9 years). Ratings of behavioral competence in each domain were made by peers and teachers. Findings generally supported hypotheses, with the magnitude of relations being modest.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dodge
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012919:Social Behavior; D014743:Videotape Recording