Modeling dyadic child-peer interactions: sociometric status, emotional expressions and instrumental actions during play

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of interaction (-patterns) of children of different sociometric statuses in dyadic child-peer interaction. The first major question in this thesis is: Can a dynamic systems model help in expanding our understanding of interaction patterns of children, and if so, what is the empirical validity of such a model? The second major question in this thesis is: What does the model teach us about differences and similarities in interaction patterns of children of different sociometric statuses? To answer these questions, two dynamic systems models of short-term interaction were built and an empirical study was conducted, in which dyads of children were videotaped during a ten-minute play session