Child Social Competence - Attentional Control and Temperament

Abstract 

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive, social, behavioural, and temperamental aspects of child development. Participants were children, aged 4-11 years old. Measures included an EAS questionnaire that was completed by classroom teachers, behavioural observations, and a verbal and nonverbal Stroop task as a cognitive measure of attentional control. It was generally expected that the children who exhibit more inhibitory control would be the most socially successful. It was hypothesized that attentional control would be positively correlated with instances of positive behavioral interactions and that the negative aspects of temperament would be negatively correlated with both the type of interaction (i.e. positive or negative) and the number of interactions overall. The primary hypothesis was disconfirmed by data analysis; the secondary hypothesis was partially confirmed. Findings attest to the fact that child development and socialization processes are incredibly complex. 


In the area of child development, cognitive and social processes are important topics of interest. There have been numerous research studies that have examined the relationships between the cognitive functioning of children as it relates to their social development and behavior. As the subject is rather complex, further investigation is needed to provide more in depth understanding of child developmental processes.