RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
TOY
AND MATERIAL USE AND
THE OCCURRENCE
OF
SOCIAL INTERACTIVE BEHAVIORS BY
NORMALLY DEVELOPING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'
JO
M. HENIIRICKSON
PHILLIP
S.
STRAIN
Vanderbilt University University
of
Pittsburgh
ANN TREMBLAY RICHARD
E.
SHORES
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
The purpose
of
this naturalistic study was to identify the kinds of social behaviors that
normally developing preschool children exhibit while manipulating various toys and
materials found in most preschool settings. One hundred fifteen
3-,
4-,
and 5-year-olds
in
four day-care centers were observed during free play periods. Thirty-eight available
toys and play materials were rated
as
to whether they were used
in
an
Isolate, Parallel,
Sharing/Cooperative,
or
Physical Assistance context. The resulting data
on
toy/material use are discussed
in
terms of selecting physical stimuli in social behavior
modification efforts that clearly set the occasion for positive social interaction.
To date, only a limited number
of
studies (e.g., Quilitch
&
Risley,
1973;
Quilitch,
Christopherson,
&
Risley, 1977) have focused on the relationship between toy and
material use and the type of play behavior exhibited by preschool children. A normative
data base does not exist that describes toys and materials that are most frequently used
by preschool children
in
free play contexts and
the
kinds
of
social behavior these children
typically display when using various items. However, prior to intervening
on
the social
behavior
of
withdrawn preschool children, it would be
of
significant clinical value to iden-
tify those materials and toys that set the occasion for positive social interactions, and to
provide teachers, aides, and other clinicians with a feasible system for making such dis-
criminations.
While earlier naturalistic study has shown that certain behaviors such as verbal play
organizers, shares, and physical assistance probably
will
result
in
positive, reciprocal
in-
teraction, the relationship between toy
or
material use and social behavior is less clear
(Tremblay, Strain, Hendrickson,
&
Shores,
I98
I). Studies using peer confederates as
treatment agents have identified a number of objects that seem to facilitate sharing and
cooperative interactions. However, these data are largely anecdotal and offer a limited
portrayal of the kinds of social behaviors a child may exhibit (Ragland, Kerr,
&
Strain,
1978; Strain, Kerr,
&
Ragland, 1979).
Other anecdotal reports by Tremblay, et al. (I98
1)
and by Tremblay, Strain, Hen-
drickson, and Shores (1980) were used
in
the present study to provide a first step
in
the
selection
of
toys and materials to be studied more systematically,
This
information was
tentatively categorized, and lists of toys that were reported to be used alone,
in
parallel
play, while sharing, while playing cooperatively,
or
when giving physical assistance were
made. The basic question was to determine
if,
in
fact, selected toys and materials were
used
in
the suspected way by normally developing preschool children, and, therefore, to
identify which materials
or
toys might be appropriate for use during social behavior
'This research
&;IS
supported by
Grant
No.
COD7802088
from
the Bureau of Education for the Han-
dicapped.
Reprint
requests
should be iiddressrd to Richard
F.
Shores,
Box
328.
George Peabody
College
for
Teachers
01'
Viinderhilt University. Nashville,
TN
37203.
500