Citation

Rende RD, Killen M. Early Child Res. Q. 1992; 7(4): 551-563.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0885-2006(92)90086-E

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study examined the interactional antecedents of object conflicts in preschoolers' interactions. Thirty-eight semistructured triadic peer groups were conducted and videotaped. The continuous behavior of each group was then broken down into a sequence of interactional states, using four exhaustive and mutually exclusive codes: solitary, dyadic, triadic, and conflictual. An analysis of the transitional probabilities associated with each state preceding conflicts revealed that dyadic and triadic states preceded conflicts less often than predicted by chance. The type of interactional antecedent was also related to the issues and outcomes of conflicts. The results indicate that social coordination among preschoolers' interactions serves to reduce conflictual exchanges. Implications for future research on antecedents of conflict and patterns of early social interaction are discussed.