This review examined the effects of toys and materials as setting events on social interactions of preschool children. A total of 11 studies were examined and the findings suggested an association with particular types of toys and materials and increases in social interaction. There are, however, several methodological weaknesses that need to be addressed in future studies. In particular, future studies need to make more extensive use of experimental rather than observational research designs, provide functional descriptions of extant social skills of participants, apply research designs that allow idiosyncratic responses to intervention to be examined and consider the effects of manipulation of effects of toys and materials in relation to age. With regard to studies involving children with special needs, a number of features of existing research, including small group sizes, unusual ratios of children with disabilities compared to typically developing children and atypical play areas, limit conclusions that can be drawn from the present data. Future research will need to address these issues and examine more typical preschool settings in order to clarify the role of toys and materials in encouraging positive social interactions between young children with disabilities and their regular peers.
Factors related to the maintenance of social interaction among withdrawn preschool children.
