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Playing with peers is one of the most important contexts for the acquisition of social competencies in early childhood. This study examined the relation between children’s play behavior, social acceptance in the peer group, and number of reciprocal friendships. One hundred and twenty eight children, aged between three and five years, participated in the study. Social acceptance and number of reciprocal friendships were assessed using two sociometric measures: nomination and comparison among peers. Children’s behavior during play activities was assessed by a Portuguese version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Global results showed positive and significant correlations between positive interaction and sociometric measures, indicating that children who manifest positive play behaviors are more accepted by peers and have more reciprocal friendships. On the other hand, play disruption and disconnection were negatively correlated with sociometric measures, indicating that children who show these types of play behaviors have lower social acceptance and fewer reciprocal friendships. Parsing the correlations by the three age groups, results show distinct patterns of associations between quality of play, social acceptance and friendship in function of age. Our results stress that already at an early age, behavior during play is related to friendship and social reputation.

Paper describes the main approaches to the social and personal development of children of preschool age. The main attention has been paid to the fact that a kindergarten group, as a genetically early stage of social organization, creates the necessary conditions for the development of children’s contacts in the process of an independent and joint activity, the acquisition of communication skills with peers “on equal terms” in a variety of educational situations necessary for the development of a child’s personality.

The methodological basis of the study is the concept of child development as a subject of a child activity and behavior (T.I. Babaeva, A.G. Gogoberidze). Theoretical analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the problem of the social and personal development of a child, analysis of PhD dissertations, defended at the Early Childhood Education Department of the A.I. Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia from the second half of the 20th century to the present was applied as an objective analytical tool.

The main directions of social and personal development of preschoolers, the personal characteristics in the interaction of preschool children with peers have been described. The indicators and conditions for the development and upbringing of the independence of preschool children have been revealed.

The article presents the experimental methodology and findings of research on the possibilities and means of relationship improvement between preschool children in a peer group through developmental activities based on theatre material. The general principles of the developmental methodology, which aim to teach children the expressive creation of characters through the integrated use of theatre tools, are highlighted. These tools are facial gesture, pantomime, gestures, vocal intonations, etc., that convey the acts, characteristic motion , and emotions of the characters interacting with each other according to the plot, allowing the children to experience the whole character by relying on figurative movement with the “whole body”. The data from the control and experimental groups are contrasted in two ways: by creative and sociometric principles. The outcome of the analysis shows a significant improvement in the results of the experimental group, unlike the control group, where there was no difference. The opportunity to improve relationships in the peer group is proved, as well as the efficacy of the experimental methodology for child development through theatre activity as compared to traditional techniques.

The article deals with the application possibilities of sociometric method for understanding the distribution of social preferences of preschool children. A broader view of the technique “Two houses”, which allows to obtain information about each preschool and a group as a whole, is presented. The paper describes the methods, procedure of its usage, data processing and interpretation.

Background. There is the is one of the most important in pedagogy and psychology problem of relationships between preschoolers. The nature of the relationship between children at this age has a significant impact on the process of development and socialization; understanding the differences in ideas about peers in older preschool children with different sociometric status reveals the features of their interaction.

Objectives. The study identified the characteristics of the idea of a peer in older preschool children with different sociometric status.

Sample. The study involved 140 preschoolers aged 6-7 years, including 69 girls and 71 boys, who had been attending state preschool educational institutions for at least two years. Consent was obtained from all preschoolers’ parents of to conduct the psychological study.

Methods. The following methods were used: “Dva domika” (“Two Houses”) by T.D. Martsinkovskaya; “Rasskaz o druge” (“A Story about a Friend”) by E.O. Smirnova, V.M. Kholmogorova; “Neokonchennyye situatsii” (“Unfinished Situations”) by A.M. Shchetinina, L.V. Kirs; “Le Test-Film” (“Film Test”) by R. Gille.

Results. The results were obtained on the differences in the ideas about peers in older preschool children with different sociometric status. Thus, preschoolers with high and average sociometric status have a positive idea of peers, open and safe for communication. When children with low sociometric status imagine peers more negatively and are wary of them, they are less inclined to establish close relationships with other children and may experience communication difficulties.

Conclusions. There is a relationship between sociometric status in a peer group and the idea of a peer in children of early to school age. The obtained results emphasize the importance of sociometric status and the need to take into account the position of a preschooler in a group when building individual work.