A conceptual and procedural alternative to the typical, individual-specific model of social behavior assessment and treatment is offered. This alternative, based upon the social reciprocity of children's interactions, has direct implications for all phases of social behavior interventions designed and implemented for special education students. Our knowledge of social reciprocity suggests that interventions should focus on interactive exchanges, rather than discrete behaviors. Thus this paper presents a conceptual analysis of shortcomings in current treatment approaches and alternative guidelines for selecting students, target behaviors, and intervention strategies to promote increased reciprocity and competence in the social interactions of exceptional children.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Asher, S. R., Markell, R. A., & Hymel, S. (1981). Identifying children at risk in peer relations: A critique of the rate-of-interaction approach to assessment. Child Development, 52, 1239–1245.
2.
Barton, E. J., & Bevirt, J. (1981). Generalization of sharing across groups. Behavior Modification, 5, 503–522.
3.
Bem, D. J., & Funder, D. C. (1978). Predicting more of the people more of the time: Assessing the personality of situations. Psychological Review, 85, 485–501.
4.
Bigelow, B. J., & Gaipa, J.J. (1975). Children's written descriptions of friendship: A multidimensional analysis. Developmental Psychology, 11, 857–858.
5.
Bornstein, M. R., Bellack, A. S., & Hersen, M. (1977). Social skills training for unassertive children: A multiple baseline analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 183–195.
6.
Buell, J., Stoddard, P., Harris, F. R., & Baer, D. M. (1968). Collateral social development accompanying reinforcement of outdoor play in a preschool child. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 167–173.
7.
Charlesworth, R., & Hartup, W. (1967). Positive social reinforcement in the nursery school peer group. Child Development, 38, 993–1002.
8.
Cooke, T. P., & Apolloni, T. (1976). Developing positive social-emotional behaviors: A study of training and generalization effects. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9, 65–78.
9.
Furman, W. (1980). Promoting social development: Developmental implications for treatment. In A. Kazdin & B. Lahey (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology, Vol. 3 (pp. 1–40). New York: Plenum.
10.
Gable, R. A., Hendrickson, J. M., & Strain, P. S. (1978). Assessment, modification, and generalization of social interaction among severely retarded, multi-handicapped children. Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 13, 279–286.
11.
Gottman, J. M. (1977). Toward a definition of social isolation in children. Child Development, 48, 513–517.
12.
Gottman, J., Gonso, J., & Rasmussen, B. (1975). Social interaction, social competence, & friendship in children. Child Development, 46, 709–718.
13.
Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161–179.
14.
Greenwood, C. R., Todd, N. M., Hops, H., & Walker, H. M. (1982). Behavior change targets in the assessment and treatment of socially withdrawn preschool children. Behavioral Assessment, 4, 273–297.
15.
Greenwood, C. R., Walker, H. M., Todd, N. M., & Hops, H. (1981). Normative and descriptive analysis of preschool freeplay social interaction rates, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 4, 343–367.
16.
Gresham, F. M. (1981). Social skills training with handicapped children: A review. Review of Educational Research, 51, 139–176.
17.
Hartup, W. W., Glazer, J., & Charlesworth, R. (1967). Peer reinforcement and sociometric status. Child Development, 38, 1017–1024.
18.
Hendrickson, J. M., Strain, P. S., Tremblay, A., & Shores, R. E. (1982). Interactions of behaviorally handicapped children: Functional effects of peer social initiations. Behavior Modification, 6, 323–353.
19.
Hoier, T. S., & Cone, J. D. (1980). Inductive idiographic assessment of social skills in children. Paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy Convention, New York.
20.
Holmberg, M. C. (1980). The development of social interchange patterns from 12 to 42 months. Child Development, 51, 448–456.
21.
Hops, H. (1983). Children's social competence and skill: Current research practices and future directions. Behavior Therapy, 14, 3–18.
22.
Kohn, M. (1966). The child as a determinant of his peers' approach to him. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 109, 91–100.
23.
Ladd, G. W. (1981). Effectiveness of a social learning method for enhancing children's social interaction and peer acceptance. Child Development, 52, 171–178.
24.
LaGreca, A. M., & Santogrossi, D. M. (1980). Social skills training with elementary school children: A behavioral group approach. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, 220–227.
25.
McConnell, S. R. (1983). Identification of social skills for handicapped boys: Evaluation of teacher rating, peer sociometric, and direct observation measures. Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon, 1982. Dissertation Abstracts International, 43, 2962A.
26.
O'Connor, R. D. (1969). Modification of social withdrawal through symbolic modeling. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2, 15–22.
27.
Oden, S., & Asher, S. R. (1977). Coaching children in social skills for friendship making. Child Development, 48, 495–506.
28.
Odom, S., Bender, M., Stein, M., Doran, L., Houden, P., McInnes, M., Shafto, F., Gilbert, M., Deklyen, M., Speltz, M., & Jenkins, J. (in press). The Integrated Preschool Curriculum: Procedures of socially integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped preschool children. Bingham, MA: Teaching Resources.
29.
Peterson, N. L. (1982). Social integration of handicapped and nonhandicapped preschoolers: A study of playmate preferences. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 2, 56–69.
30.
Putallaz, M., & Gottman, J. M. (1981). An interactional model of children's entry into peer groups. Child Development, 52, 986–994.
31.
Rubin, K. H., Watson, K. S., & Jambor, T. W. (1978). Free play behaviors in preschool and kindergarten children. Child Development, 49, 534–536.
32.
Strain, P. S. (1983). Interim report on child outcomes for LEAP preschool. Unpublished manuscript, University of Pittsburgh.
33.
Strain, P. S. (in press-a). Social interactions of handicapped preschoolers in developmentally-integrated and segregated settings: A study of generalization effects. In T. Field (Ed.), Friendships between normally developing and handicapped children.
34.
Strain, P. S. (in press-b). Identification of social skill curriculum targets for severely handicapped children in mainstream preschools. Journal of Applied Research in Mental Retardation.
35.
Strain, P. S., & Fox, J. E. (1981). Peers as behavior change agents for withdrawn classmates. In A. E. Kazdin & B. Lahey (Eds.), Advances in child clinical psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 167–198). New York: Plenum.
36.
Strain, P. S., & Kerr, M. M. (1981). Mainstreaming of children in schools: Research and programmatic issues. New York: Academic Press.
37.
Strain, P. S., & Shores, R. E. (in press). A reply to “Misguided Mainstreaming.”Exceptional Children.
38.
Strain, P. S., Shores, R. E., & Kerr, M. M. (1977). An experimental analysis of “spillover” effects on social interaction among behaviorally handicapped preschool children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9, 31–40.
39.
Strain, P. S., Shores, R. E., & Timm, M. A. (1977). Effects of peer social interaction between a behaviorally disordered preschool child and her classroom peers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7, 583–590.
40.
Thelen, M. H., Miller, D. J., Fehrenbach, P. A., Frantscki, N. M., & Fishbein, M. D. (1980). Imitation during play as a means of social influence. Child Development, 51, 918–920.
41.
Tremblay, A., Strain, P. S., Hendrickson, J. M., & Shores, R. E. (1981). Social interactions of normal preschool children. Behavior Modification, 5, 237–253.
42.
Waldrop, M. F., & Halverson, C. F. (1975). Intensive and extensive peer behavior: Longitudinal and cross sectional analyses. Child Development, 46, 19–26.
43.
Walker, H. M., Greenwood, C. R., Hops, H., & Todd, N. M. (1979). Differential effects of reinforcing topographic components of social interaction. Behavior Modification, 3, 291–321.
44.
Walker, H. M., McConnell, S. R., Holmes, D., Todis, B., Walker, J. C., & Golden, N. (1983). A curriculum for children's effective peer and teacher skills (ACCEPTS). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
45.
Walker, H. M., McConnell, S. R., Walker, J. L., Clarke, J. Y., Todis, B., Cohen, G., & Rankin, R. (1983). Initial analysis of the SBS curriculum: Efficacy of instructional and behavior management procedures for improving the social competence of handicapped children. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 3, 105–127.
46.
Wright, M. J. (1980). Measuring social competence of preschool children. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 12, 17–32.
