The behavioral effects of cooperative and competitive board games in preschoolers.

The study investigates whether traditional board games can be used to influence social behaviour among kindergarten children. The main goal is to see if collaborative board games, compared to competitive games, can promote collaborative and social behaviour in the kindergarten children, while reducing competitive and antisocial behaviour, also in situations occurring outside the game itself.

The type of board game did not affect the children's collaborative or social behaviour. Both types of games, collaborative and competitive, led to positive social behaviour among the kindergarten children. Although some children may have competed more after playing competitive games, this observation was uncertain. In general, the children liked collaborative games better than competitive games.

In total, 65 children between the ages of four and six (31 girls) from four Swedish kindergartens participated. Repeatedly over six weeks, the children, in groups of four, played either collaborative or competitive board games. After each game, the children completed a task in which signs of collaborative, social, competitive and antisocial behaviour were observed.

Eriksson, M., Kenward, B., Poom, L. & Stenberg, G. (2021). "The behavioral effects of cooperative and competitive board games in preschoolers". Scandinavian journal of psychology, 62(3):355-364.