PEER PERSUASION AND DOMINANCE DURING PLAY AMONG KINDERGARTEN LEARNERS

This study aimed to examine how kindergarten children demonstrate peer persuasion and dominance during
play to better understand their social development. The participants were one section of 5-year-old children
enrolled at musuan integrated school in musuan, maramag, bukidnon. Using a naturalistic observation method,
the researchers observed the children’s free play without interference to identify dominance tactics, peer
responses, and the frequency of successful persuasion. The findings revealed that the children used a mix of
verbal commands, non-verbal gestures, and physical actions to show dominance. Peer responses were mainly
compliance, resistance, or withdrawal, with many children allowing dominant peers to lead in order to maintain
group harmony. The frequency of successful persuasion varied from 20% to 87.5% of observed interactions.
The study concludes that play serves as an important setting for developing social influence and leadership skills
among young children. These results highlight the value of observing play behavior to better support social and
emotional learning in early childhood education.