A Picture Sociometric Technique for Preschool Children and Its Relation to Teacher Judgments of Friendship

Bullying in preschool: The associations between participant roles, social competence, and social preference

“…They then described each child by sorting the two Q-Sets into a predetermined rectangular distribution of nine categories (q-profile), on the basis of the similarity of each item to the children's behavior. Social preference was assessed by asking the 78 children from the sub-sample to nominate up to three classmates they liked most (preferences) and three that they liked least (refusals), a method derived from McCandless and Marshall (1957). By convention, the child's social competence score is the Pearson correlation, ranging between À1 and þ1, between his/her q-profile and a q-criterion, which is a composite description obtained by averaging the scores assigned by experts to each item.…”

Social Competence in Preschool Children: Replication of Results and Clarification of a Hierarchical Measurement Model

“…SC was assessed using seven indicators, representing three broad dimensions, namely (1) SE/M, using direct observations (rate scores for visual attention received plus positive and neutral initiated interactions); (2) behavioral and psychological attributes (BPA), using Q‐sort descriptions [California child Q‐sort (CCQ); Block & Block, ; and preschool Q‐sort (PQ), Bronson's adaptation of a Q‐sort originally used by Baumrind, ]; and (3) PA, using sociometric interviews (acceptance scores for nominations and paired comparison sociometric tasks, McCandless & Marshall, ).…”

“…The PA dimension of SC was assessed using two sociometric interviews—peer nominations (McCandless & Marshall, ) and a paired comparison task (e.g., Vaughn & Waters, ). As with our other indicators, sociometric scores have the quality of being broadband indicators of SC (i.e., they do not assess a particular skill or social ability, reflecting instead an array of behaviors, interactions, and attributes in the context of peer relations that affect likeability).…”

Hierarchical Models of Social Competence in Preschool Children: A Multisite, Multinational Study

“…Sociometric acceptance. Positive and negative sociometric scores were derived from a nominations sociometric task (McCandless & Marshall, 1957) administered individually by a trained research staff member. Children were presented with an array of photographs of their classmates and asked to identify a child they “especially liked.” After making three such choices, the children were asked to identify a classmate they “did not especially like.” They made three negative choices and then returned to the array to identify more “liked” children.…”