Abstract:

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between gender, social behavior, temperament and false belief performances in preschool children. The research study was conducted with the quantitative correlational research method. The sample of the study was 61 children of the 48-72 month age group, selected by means of convenience sampling from a population of children attending public preschools in Ankara in the 2018-2019 academic year. The data of the research study was collected with the Preschool Social Behavior Scale – Teacher Form and Peer Form, the Short Temperament Scale for Children and the False Belief Performance Tasks. As the collected data did not meet the normal distribution conditions, it was analyzed by non-parametric tests. As a result of analysis, it was found that peer based assessment of physical and relational aggression scores were significant for boys. The scores for peer and teacher based assessment of prosocial behavior and total false belief performance was found significant in girls. A high level positively significant relationship between peer based assessment of physical and relational aggression scores was found in the children and also for the teacher based assessment of physical and relational aggression scores. Results showed that the children had a low level positive relationship between approach sub-scale scores and teacher based assessment of relational aggression and a low level positive relationship between the persistence sub-scale scores and peer based assessment of prosocial behavior scores. A low level positive relationship was also found between total false belief performances and prosocial behavior scores. It is thought that while the teacher and children evaluate the social behavior of the child's peer with what they experience in the interaction process, the teacher evaluates the social behavior with his observations, which causes differences in their evaluations as a result of the fact that the peers who are the subject of the interaction and the teacher who is the observer are in different positions and conditions.

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