Abstract
This paper describes the observation of the child in a peer group as part of his evaluation in a clinical setting. The observation is divided into three parts and done in a play atmosphere. First, the children meet and do craft activities. Afterwards they are left alone in this room and observed from another room; then they are free to do whatever they like, using material selected in advance. Finally the activities are structured by two participant observers.
The observation is particularly useful for evaluating the social functioning of the child and, more especially, his relationships with his peers, which are interpreted only by the traditional method of evaluation. The observation usually corroborates the findings of other sources and also often brings new insights. A better understanding of various aspects of the psychosocial development and of some components of the ego is often revealed. The findings in this paper are illustrated with extracts from case histories.