[On the impact of social stress on concentration performances in kindergarteners: results of naturalistic experiments in kindergarten-settings].
Results of three experimental studies (implemented in naturalistic kindergarten-settings) on short-term effects of social stress on concentration performance in young children are presented. In all 250 kindergarten-children were tested repeatedly with the Kaseler-Konzentrations-Aufgabe (KKA; Kasel-Concentration-Task for Children Aged 3-8 Years; test-duration: 6-7 minutes). In addition, after each KKA-test the children were asked about their subjective feelings of tiredness and of distractions during the test. In Study I 90 kindergarten-children were randomized to a standard individual test-setting, a triadic test-setting with another child observing the test child, and an individual test-setting within the noisy kindergarten group. Study II refers to 40 kindergarten-children tested individually and repeatedly in a silent standard setting, in a noisy setting with other children playing loudly outside, and in a noisy setting with other children singing very loudly in their group-rooms outside the testing-room. 120 kindergarten-children took part in Study III, in which test time and social setting (shortly after arrival in kindergarten, after joint breakfast, before and after joint lunch) were varied. In Study I results point at large negative effects of social stress on concentration performance. No effects of typical kindergarten noises on concentration were observed in Study II and Study III, with the exception of stress reactions on concentration in the after-joint-lunch kindergarten setting. Results point at good habituations to common social stress in kindergarten-children as well as specific strong stress reactions on concentration in social settings, including observers and noisy group-settings. Subjective ratings of distractions during testing and of tiredness after testing are not correlated with cognitive stress reactions, putting the competence of kindergarten-children to report verbally solid about their stress reactions in question.
Krampen
Günter
G
Universität Trier, Fachbereich I Psychologie, Trier. krampen@uni-trier.de
D001288:Attention; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*