First Graders' Interpersonal Understanding During Cooperative and Competitive Games

Differences in children’s social interactions during cooperative and competitive games were investigated. Thirty-seven children from two first grade classes with cooperative classroom climates were videotaped while playing a cooperative and a competitive board game. Children’s social interactions were coded using Selman’s Levels of Enacted Interpersonal Understanding. Small but significant differences were found between game conditions, with more higher-level negotiation strategies and shared experiences occurring during the cooperative games. No differences were found in lower-level strategies. The benefits of using both competitive and cooperative games in early childhood classrooms are discussed. © 2003, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.