Differences in Mechanisms of Social Interaction of Gifted Children Based on Peer Acceptance

Early relationships with equals are considered a relevant factor in people’s development. In order to study social interaction, Santoyo (1996, 2006) proposes the functional mechanisms of social effectiveness, social responsiveness, and reciprocity. To analyze and compare these mechanisms in the participants of the Comprehensive Program for High Abilities (CPHA) with the purpose of detecting possible differences between the students who are better considered by their equals and those who have less social acceptance. The sample was selected by a sociogram, and the social interaction was measured with the Observational Protocol for Interactions within the Classroom-OPINTEC, v.5 (Cadenas & Borges, 2016, 2017; Cadenas, Borges, & Falcón, 2013). The participants show effectiveness and correspondence, but they don’t show social reciprocity. No differences were observed between the most valued ones and the most rejected ones. Observation represents and appropriate methodology for the studying of social relations in natural settings in combination with other procedures.