Assessing Social-Emotional Competence in Preschoolers: Support for School Readiness

Susanne A. Denhamsdenham@gmu.edu

George Mason University

To Begin: A Center-Time Story4-year-olds Robbie and Jamila are pretending to be firefighters. They have firefighters’ hats and boots, a ride-on fire engine, a plush Dalmatian dog, and cots to lie on until someone rings the big bell. They are having fun!

Robbie moves the fire engine to the spot that Jamila points to--they are ready to rescue the people from that fire!! But then things getcomplicated, changing fast, as interaction often does.

Jamila suddenly decides that she should be the driver, and tries to pull Robbie off its seat. At the same time, Tyrone, hovering nearby, runs over and whines to join in.

But Robbie, almost falling off the fire engine, doesn’t want Tyrone to join --he’s too much of a baby. At the same time, Jamila trips over a cot, falls down, and starts to cry. And just then Tomas, the class bully, approaches, laughing at four-year-olds making believe and crying.

What is Happening Here

Ability to be attached to adults Self-Awareness and Other-Awareness

Especially understanding emotion

Self Management Especially emotion regulation

Social problem-solvingRelationship Management

This was a lot more thana simple playtime!!!

EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE

EXPRESSIVENESS

UNDERSTANDING OF EMOTION

REGULATING, AND COPING WITH, EMOTIONS

Aspects of Self-RegulationDebate about Executive Function, Behavioral Control, Compliance. HOWEVER ~~~Cognitive Regulation

e.g., Pays attention during instructions and demonstrations; Sustains concentration

Impulse Control/Test Behaviore.g., Refrains from indiscriminately touching test materials; Lets examiner finish before starting task, does not interrupt; Has little or no difficulty waiting between tasks

Social Behaviore.g., Cooperates; complies with assessor’s requests; Engages assessor in positive social interaction

Positive EmotionShows pleasure in accomplishment and active task mastery, confident

Negative EmotionChild shows frequent feelings of anger/irritation; Child shows intense apprehensive, sad, or worried feelings and/or behavior

Analyze social situations – ENCODE & INTERPRET

Set goalsCLARIFICATION OF GOALS

Figure out effective ways to solve differences between self & others

RESPONSE GENERATION, EVALUATION, & DECISION

Alternative solution generationMeans-Ends thinkingConsequential thinking

Social Problem Solving:Responsible Decision Making

Positive overtures to play

Initiating and maintaining conversation

Negotiation

Saying “no”

Seeking help

Cooperating

Sharing

Taking turns

Other Positive Behavior:Relationship Management Skills

Socially Effective

Goal Success: Differing Views

Groups Peers & Teachers Self

Specific Skills To Meet Intra-& Interpersonal Goals:

Maintaining Positive Engagement &Self-Regulation During Interaction

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RELATIONAL/PROSOCIAL EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE SKILLS

Why We CareChildren without age appropriate emotional/social skills

* Participate less in class* Less accepted by classmates/teachers* Get fewer instructions and positive feedback from teachers* Like school less and less

Social-Emotional competence predictsacademic success in 1st grade, even considering intelligence/family background

Why We Care

This pattern persists. Aggressive/antisocial children are more likely to:

*Perform poorly on academic tasks *Be held back in later grades*Drop out later on*Continue antisocial behavior

Necessary to pinpoint social-emotional strengths and weaknesses. Crucial to insuring long-term well-being and academic success (Raver & Knitzer, 2002).

Assessing Emotional Expressiveness

FOCAL program – William Roberts, CanadaFree softwareAssess actor-action-targetTimeAnalyses available – reliability, sequentialData checking routines and error repair

Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist (MPAC)Also “live” codingPositive affectNegative affect“Inappropriate” affect

Others, more labor-intensiveIzard’s AFFEX

Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist

Observational measure of socio-emotional competence in free play“Live” CodingPositive AffectNegative Affect“Inappropriate” Affect

Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist

Interpersonal awareness—behavior reflecting knowledge or awareness about another person; helping behavior

Prosocial response to needs of others

Unprovoked, physical, interpersonal aggression; hazing, teasing,or other provocation or threat

Hostility

No social interaction continuously for 3 minutes or moreIsolation

Successful leadership; inept attempts at leadership; smoothly approaches an already ongoing activity

Skills in peer leading and joining

Promptly expresses, in words, feelings arising from problem situation, then moves on; shows ability to tolerate frustration well even if does not verbalize

Positive management of frustration

Context-related, physical, interpersonal aggression; inability to stop ongoing behavior; becomes withdrawn

Lapses in impulse control

Wandering; listless; tension burstsUnproductive, unfocused use of personal energy

Engrossed, absorbed, intensely involved in activity; independent--involved in an activity that the child organizes for himself

Productive involvement in purposeful activity

Expresses negative affect to another child in response to the other’s neutral or positive overture; takes pleasure in another’s distress

Inappropriate affect

Uses negative affect to initiate contact, to begin a social interaction with someone; uses face or voice very expressively to show negative affect

Expression and regulation of negative affect

Displays positive affect in any manner--facial, vocal, bodily; shows ongoing high enjoyment (30 sec. or more)

Expression and regulation of positive affect

Exemplars of behaviors observedMPAC Scales

Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist Findings

Very detailed description of child’s behavior.Good analysis in only four 5 minute sessionsIdeal for evaluating intervention programs.

Denham & Burton, 1996Inflexxion program – CAT’s Incredible Journey

Empirical findings –Age X maternal diagnosis effects (Denham, Zahn-Waxler, et al., 1991)Current findings with ASESSR project

Social Competence Behavioral Evaluation

3 scales: Sensitive/Cooperative, Angry/Aggressive, Anxious/WithdrawnRelated to aspects of social emotional competence in earlier research – emotion knowledge assessed via the puppet measure, observed emotion, for exampleOthers’ research show that SCBE scores predict later success in school.

Social Competence Behavioral Evaluation

Preschool Socioaffective Profile Subject Number: Center: Completed By: Please circle the appropriate number indicating how much each best describes the child

1 2 3 4 5 6 Not much like this child Very much like this child 1. Irritable, gets mad easily

1 2 3 4 5 6 2. Negotiates solutions to conflicts

1 2 3 4 5 6 3. Remains apart, isolated from the group

1 2 3 4 5 6 4. Easily frustrated

1 2 3 4 5 6 5. Comforts or assists children in difficulty

1 2 3 4 5 6 6. Inactive, watches others play

1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Defiant when reprimanded

1 2 3 4 5 6 8. Taken other children’s viewpoint into account

1 2 3 4 5 6 9. Sad, unhappy, or depressed

1 2 3 4 5 6

Assessing Emotion Knowledge

Denham “puppet measure”: Affect Knowledge Test, (AKTJude Cassidy interviewKusché Receptive and Expressive Knowledge measure: Kusché Expression Inventory (KEI)Older children:

Kusché Interview: causes of emotion for self and other, simultaneous emotions, display rules, etc.Jackie Gnepp measures: individualized reasons for emotions

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” Test

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” Test

Measures children’s understanding of emotional expressions and situationsPart I: Child names and identifies happy, sad, angry, and scared faces.Part II: Assessor acts out emotional situations with puppets, asks child to place a face on the puppet showing what the puppet “feels”.Part III: Assessor acts out ambiguous situation, where the child feels differently than the puppet. Based on Parent Questionnaire answers.

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” Test Part I

1.Point to each face: how does he/she feel?

2. Can you point to the _______face?

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” Test Part II

“Hi! I’m Nancy/Johnny. Here is my brother/sister. Ah! She/he gave me some ice cream. YUM, YUM!!” (Assessor acts HAPPY).

“Show me how Nancy/Johnny feels!”

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” Test Part III

Please circle the emotion you think your child would be most likely to display in the following situations: (If you have not seen a situation, try to predict what your child would feel.) 1. Coming to preschool. Happy Sad 2. Going to the airport, seeing the airplane, etc., but also seeing a parent off on a trip. Happy Sad 3. What is your child’s favorite food, which makes him/her very happy? Least favorite _______________

4. Coming in from playing outside when you call him/her for dinner. Happy Angry 5. Seeing a big although friendly dog. Happy Afraid 6. Going into the water at the swimming pool. Happy Afraid 7. Some other kids would not let him/her play. Angry Sad 8. He/she is told that he/she has to stay home while everyone else in the family goes to get ice cream. Angry Sad 9. A brother or sister punches him/her, and says that if he/she tells Mom or dad, theywill hit him/her again. Angry Afraid 10.Getting a spanking. Angry Afraid 11. After doing something naughty, a parent says if they do it again, they will have to be punished. Sad Afraid 12 Experiencing the death of a fairly close friend or member of the

ParentSurvey

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” Test Part III: Non-stereotypical response

Parent Survey

Seeing a big although friendly dog. AfraidHappy

Assessor would read opposite of parent survey answer:

SCARED: Nancy/Johnny: “Here comes a big dog He looks mean; his teeth

are big.”

HAPPY: Nancy/Johnny: “Here comes a big dog He looks nice; his big teeth are smiling at me.”

Affect Knowledge “Puppet” TestFindings

Requires little verbalization, quick, and fun.Scores related to other tests of social-emotional competenceHelp teachers understand child’s emotion knowledgePrognosticate about skills related to measure, track learning over time

How should we try to assess ER?What do we need to know about children’s ER abilities?

“end product”: the presence or absence of emotional expression and experience interfere with a person’s goals.

Are children vulnerable to extreme, long-lasting, and/or difficult to calm positive or negative emotions

“process”: extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions, especially their intensive and temporal features, to accomplish one’s goals.

In their efforts to regulate either positive or negative emotions, what exactly do children do? What are their strategies?

Also includeDelay of GratificationMotor ControlCognitive ControlView from more holistic ER perspective

Preschool Regulation Assessment(PSRA)

Balance Beam/Walk the Line– regular plus 2 “SLOW” trials

Pencil TapTower Turns/Tower Clean UpToy Sorting/Clean UpGift Wrap and Toy ReturnSnack DelayTongue Task

PSRA

“We can’t play right now, but please clean up this mess and put the toys where they go. See, the cars go in here,

the dinosaurs go in here, the bugs go in here, and the beads go in here.”

Child is timed: when does clean up begin? How long does clean up take? Does child play with toys?

PSRA “Ok, now we’re going to play a game with these blocks; we can build a tower.”“We’ll take turns adding blocks to the tower. First you put one on, and then I’ll put one on, and then you put one on and I’ll put one on. That’s how we take turns and that’s how we play this game.”

Keep track of if child takes turns, engages assessor, etc.

PSRA Assessor’s Code Sheet: Example

Wrapping (1 minute)

(if child does not peek/turn around, enter NA)Time elapsed before first peek: Time elapsed before first turns around: ________

(Choose one of the following)Child does not try peek

Child turns head toward toy, but not enough to see

Child peeks enough to see the toy

Child turns around to see, but turns back again

Child turns around and does not turn all the way back again

Child peeks more than once

Waiting (1 minute)

(if child does not peek/turn around, enter NA)Time elapsed before touches: Time elapsed before opens gift:

EM Assessor’s Code Sheet

For each task, alsoUnderstands task directionsPositive Engages examinerDefiantIgnores

Along with# sec to peek, etc.

PSRA Findings

New measureUsed to investigate non-cognitive factors (attention, impulsivity, emotional state) that influence a child’s performance on cognitive tasksTest results are moderately related to teachers’ ratings of social competence, externalizing problems, and early academic skills (Smith-Donald, Raver, et al., 2007)

PSRA Assessor’s Report – Part I

Cognitive RegulationA1. Pays attention during instructions and demonstrations

A2. Careful, interested in accuracy; not careless

A3. Sustains concentration; willing to try repetitive tasks

A4. Daydreams, has trouble focusing during assessment

A5. Distracted by auditory or visual stimuli

PSRA Assessor’s Report – Part II

Impulse Control/Test BehaviorB1. Is careless or destructive with test materials

B2. Thinks and plans before beginning each task

B3. Refrains from indiscriminately touching test materials

B4. Lets examiner finish before starting task, does not interrupt

B5. Has difficulty waiting between tasks

B6. Remains in seat appropriately during test

EM Assessor’s Report – Part III

Social Behavior

C1. Alert and interactive; not withdrawn

C2. Cooperates; complies with assessor’s requests

C3. Engages assessor in positive social interaction

EM Assessor’s Report – Part IV

Positive Emotion

D1. Shows pleasure in accomplishment and active task mastery

D2. Confident

EM Assessor’s Report – Part VNegative Emotion

E1. Defiant

E2. Passively non-compliant

E3. Modulates and regulates arousal in self

E4. Child shows intense angry/irritable feelings and/or behavior

E5. Child shows frequent feelings of anger/irritation

E6. Child shows intense apprehensive, sad, or worried feelings and/or behavior

E7. Child frequently shows feelings of sadness, worry

E8. Child shows intense positive emotions and behavior

E9. Child shows frequent positive emotions and behavior

EM Assessor’s Report Additional Questions

Extreme Behavior Regulation Difficulty

Act aggressively towards objects?

Use verbal aggression?

Act aggressively towards people?

Other Emotion Regulation MeasuresSee also McCabe’s Games as Measures for Early Self-Control; Murray & Kochanska, 2002) Snack Delay

McCabe addsThe Circle Task – Baseline and SlowParrot & Dragon – measure for cognitive regulationHands and Feet – measure for cognitive regulation

There are numerous other tasks that have been tested

Are these really emotion regulation?

DELAY OF GRATIFICATION TASKRAVER LAB; ADAPTED FROM GROLNICK ET AL (1996)Materials:

“Magic box” –5” X 3” wooden box with “trick” sliding doorMultiple metal and rubber animal figurines

Child is seated at table. Camera person introduced.

Interviewer (experimenter 1) presents box.Shake box.“I think there’s something in here. Do you hear it?”Shake the box next to child’s ear but do not let child shake box.“What do you think it is”Elicit child reply, but do not push for answer if child just shakes head, smiles, etc. “I think there’s something really special in this box. Maybe some creatures!”Use excited, “conspiratorial” voice to get child engaged, interested, curious.

Instructions“We’re going to tell a story about who is in this box. But…..” make tsk sound, furrow brow in frustration “I forgot something and I need to go to my car and get it. Okay?”“We can find out who’s in here and we can make up a story . . . when I get back.State prohibition clearly, while TAPPING HAND ON BOX. “But don’t touch this while I’m gone, Okay?”Leave room quickly and start wristwatch stopwatch upon exit from room.

Videotape wait; Experimenter/Interviewer returns”Hey! I’m back! Okay… let’s see what’s inside!”

General – productChildren’s coping behavior when faced with emotional situations with peers can be assessed by Eisenberg et al. (1994) measure. Item content reflects (13 items, good psychometrics for resultant 3 aggregates below):

Instrumental Coping (e.g., doing something to solve the problem)Instrumental Aggression (e.g., hitting to get your way)Emotional Intervention (e.g., crying to elicit help), Avoidance DistractionVenting Emotional Aggression (e.g., hitting to let off steam)Cognitive Restructuring (e.g., saying “I don’t care”)Cognitive Avoidance (e.g., not thinking about the problem), Instrumental Intervention (e.g., getting help), Instrumental Support (e.g., talking to someone about the problem), Denial (e.g., saying nothing happened).

Data can be reduced to three summary scales: Emotional Venting (e.g., cries to release feelings/get help, solves problems/releases feelings through aggression). Constructive Strategies (e.g., getting emotional support or pragmatic assistance with the problem; solving the problem)Avoidant Strategies (e.g., using distraction, denying the problem)Findings with this measure

Specific Issues

Child comprehensionAdequate variabilityPortability to homes and schools

Durability of materialsNonintrusivenessKeeping standardization

Administration to individuals and groups in home, school, and laboratoryAROUSING EMOTION

Assessing Relationship Skills

Carollee Howes’ Social Behavior Rating Scale

MPAC

Assessing Social Problem Solving

Measures by Myrna ShureNumbers of alternative solutions – not emphasize quality, although quality can be derived

Measures by Kenneth Rubin“Challenging Situations Task”

Crick & Dodge (1994); Lemerise & Arsenio (2000)

Challenging Situations Task(Denham, Bouril, & Belouad, 1994)

Assesses children’s social perceptions of the emotions and behavior of their peers.Asks child to make decisions about difficult peer situations: entry into play and peer provocationFocuses on how they feel, what they would do, how their peer would feel, how they feel after.Shows cards with choices of feelings/situations for child to choose

Challenging Situations Task

“Mary/John sees some of her/his friends playing a game of ‘Candyland’. She/he would really like to play too. If you were Mary/John, how would you feel?”

Challenging Situations Task

Do you feel angry? Do you feel happy?

Do you feel sad? Do you feel just ok?

Challenging Situations Task

Do you feel a little _______

Or do you feel a lot ______

Challenging Situations TaskWhat would you do? Do you:

Ask if you can play with them? Stand on the side and look sad?

Mess up the game by taking one of the pieces?

Wait and see if they notice you?

Challenging Situations TaskHow do they feel when you _____?

Do they feel happy? Do they feel sad?

Do they feel angry? Do they feel just OK?

Challenging Situations Task –Final Segments

What does peer do?

How does peer feel after doing so?

How do you feel in the end?

Challenging Situations TaskFindings

Choices related to level of emotional knowledge and teacher ratings of classroom behaviorChildren at risk for behavior problems were not likely to make prosocial choicesBoys with diagnosable behavior problems were 2x as likely to choose aggressive solutions.

Goals for Recent Grant ProjectPursue the social-emotional domain rather than relying solely on children’cognitive abilities, to benchmark individual children’s and programs’progress

Expand social-emotional assessment beyond the measures included in extant large-scale studies of preschool development. Heretofore there have been few appropriate measures in this domain, and theoretical bases have been weak for those that do exist.

Highlight especially direct assessments, both structured and unstructured,of children’s social-emotional competence, to be used in concert with adult-rated assessments.

Thus, we propose to measure observationally and/or directly with the childthe following aspects of social-emotional competence

Emotional expressivenessUnderstanding of emotionRegulation of emotion and behavior Peer BehaviorsResponsible decision-making

RESOURCES: A WORK IN PROGRESSEMAIL ADDRESSES

cybele@uchicago.edulam4@cornell.eduNancy.eisenberg@asu.edumaryroth@oregon.uoregon.edusdenham@gmu.edu

References

Crick, N., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social-information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74-101.Denham, S. A., Bouril, B., & Belouad, F. (1994). Preschoolers' understanding of challenging peer situations. Child Study Journal, 24, 1-21.Denham, S. A., Zahn-Waxler, C, Cummings, E. M., & Iannotti, R. J. (1991). Social competence in young children's peer relationships: Patterns of development and change. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 22, 29-43.Lemerise, E. A., & Arsenio, W. F. (2000). An integrated model of emotion processes and cognition in social information processing. Child Development, 71, 107-118.

EisenbergEisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Nyman, M., Bernzweig, J., & Pinuelas, A. (1994). The relation of emotionality and regulation to preschoolers’ anger-related reactions. Child Development, 65, 1352-1366.

McCabeMcCabe, L.A., Cunnington, M.,& Brooks-Gunn, J. (2004). The development of self-regulation in young children: Individual characteristics and environmental contexts. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds) Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 340-356). New York: Guilford Press. McCabe, L. A., Rebello-Britto, P. Hernandez, M., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2004). Games children play: Observing young children's self-regulation across laboratory, home, and school settings. In R. DelCarmen-Wiggins & A. Carter (Eds.). Handbook of infant, toddler, and preschool mental health assessment (pp. 491-521). New York: Oxford University Press.

RaverRaver, C. C., Blackburn, E. K., & Bancroft, M. (1999). Relations between effective emotional self-regulation, attentional control, and low-income preschoolers’ social competence with peers. Early Education and Development, 10, 333-350.Smith-Donald, R., & Raver, C. PSRA Protocol. Unpublished manuscript, University of ChicagoSmith-Donald, R., Raver, C., Hayes, T.,. & Richardson, B. (2997). Preliminary construct and concurrent validity of the Preschool Self-regulation Assessment (PSRA) for field-based research. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 173-187.

KochanskaMurray, K. T., & Kochanska, G. (2002). Effortful control: Factor structure and relation to externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 30, 503-514.