The Effects of Social Stories on Positive Social Interactions — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

The Effects of Social Stories on Positive Social Interactions

Name: Michael Motyka
Major: Psychology and Neuroscience
Hometown: River Grove, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Dennis Munk
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

The present study sought to determine the effects of social stories on the frequency of positive social interactions, which included behaviors such as eye contact and supportive behavior. The participant in this study was a fourteen-year-old female who attended an inclusive learning facility that provided extra educational assistance. The participant lacked social skills that are typical in adolescent development, and therefore, demonstrated more negative social interactions with her peers.

A common intervention used to improve social behavior is social skills training (SST). Social stories is a type of SST where researchers describe a targeted behavior through experienced situations and test whether the participant understands and is able to model the behavior. The intervention was conducted during the morning meeting, with observational data collected throughout the day. The results showed an increase in the participant's positive social interactions after the use of social stories. These findings suggest that social stories can help increase positive social interactions in adolescents with ADHD.