A game-based intervention promotes social-cognitive development in early childhood in urban poverty contexts in Brazil

Adversities experienced during early childhood can have powerful and long-lasting influences that may affect the development of cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Game-based interventions, played by groups of peers and focused on optimizing social cognition, may address these effects and improve resilience, positively impacting academic achievement and social well-being. However, empirical evidence for the effectiveness of such interventions remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where their impact may be especially beneficial. In this study, we developed and preliminarily evaluated a game-based curriculum designed to enhance children’s understanding of social and emotional information, critical skills for effective communication, metacognition, and learning from others. In a preregistered, double-blind cluster-randomized pilot study conducted in Brazil, we evaluated the effectiveness of the social game-based Intervention, CuriousMind , in the context of urban poverty among preschool children. Schools were randomized to one of three conditions: CuriousMind , a game-based math intervention (active control), or a no-treatment control. Children were evaluated before and after the 10-week intervention. CuriousMind significantly enhanced children’s social and emotional skills, particularly in emotion labeling, emotion recognition, and emotion situation knowledge, providing evidence that game-based interventions with peers can effectively promote social-cognitive development in early childhood.