TITLE:
The Development of Emotional Regulation in Pre-Schoolers: The Role of Sociodramatic Play
AUTHORS:
Pilios-Dimitris Stavrou
KEYWORDS:
Sociodramatic Play, Emotion Regulation, Pre-Schoolers, School Intervention
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.10 No.1,
January
16,
2019
ABSTRACT: The present research focuses on the link between emotion regulation in preschoolers and the efficiency of sociodramatic play as a means of developing emotional and social skills appropriate for each developmental stage. In particular, we examined the effects of sociodramatic play on a four-year-old boy named Andreas, who demonstrated signs of limited emotional regulation, such as angry outbursts, inability to control his emotions and inability to cope in emotion-inducing situations. This swift in his behaviour, caused by his mother’s negative control behaviour, was measured through the Emotion Regulation Checklist, the Delay Gratification Task and the Task of Effortful Control. Drawing from a plethora of theorists who support the benefits of sociodramatic play for the development of emotion regulation skills, we designed a three months school based intervention for Andreas and employed the tests beforehand and after the end of the sociodramatic sessions to explore the efficiency of the intervention. Results are discussed in regards to relevant literature.