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On the Relation between Social Information Processing and Socially Competent Behavior in Early School‐Aged Children
Author(s) -
Dodge Kenneth A.,
Price Joseph M.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00823.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social information processing , developmental psychology , information processing , social competence , competence (human resources) , social relation , reciprocal , social psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , social change , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience , economics , economic growth
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.