Child's Play

Developmental and Applied

Thomas D. Yawkey, Anthony D. Pellegrini

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351582001
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Applied Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Originally published in 1984, a major purpose of this book was to bring together in a single volume, work that reflects the wide range of interests that social and behavioural scientists have in play, development and the environment. The intent of the book was to refine and extend concepts and methodologies within and beyond one's usual area of study. The idea was that this formula and direction would yield novel information and fresh insights. The volume encompasses a wealth of topics concerning structural, functional, and pragmatic aspects of play during early childhood and childhood, and includes strong emphasis on methodological as well as substantive concerns. It was hoped that the chapters here would inspire a new generation of research extending knowledge both in theoretical and applied areas.

1Selected Introductory Notes on Child’s Play As Developmental and Applied

Thomas D. Yawkey

The Pennsylvania State University

Introduction

Although child’s play and play-related actions such as exploration and humor have been of import to researcher and practitioner alike for centuries, interest in them as cognitive entities and for systematic research study has mushroomed since the publication of Jean Piaget’s (1962) book on this subject. In this seminal work, Piaget identifies pretend or ludic play as a necessary ingredient for cognitive development of human organisms from infancy to adulthood. First, pretending and cognizing both carry necessary elements of symbolic representation that more or less differ qualitatively and quantitatively depending on the situation and, more currently, on context.

Second, in stressing the significance of the pretend function to past, present, and future cognitive development and the interrelationships between logical and pretend thought functions, Piaget also describes a qualitative and quantitative shifting from more to less assimilative thought as children increase with age. Piaget hypothesizes that this shift may rest with emerging cognitive capacities developed inherently within the pretend play act itself (e.g., the ability to decenter). For example, in a cognitive sense the youngster through pretend play begins to view his relations to and with others as reciprocal rather than unidimensional. Constantly and continually interchanging thought with others through ludic play actions, the youngster decentralizes himself and coordinates internal relationships derived from desparate points of view. In ludic play, for instance, the child gathers together different experiences and creates combinations from them in and through ludic functioning. In pretend play, the youngster easily rearranges his representational thinking with objects, ideas, situations, and contexts and meshes them with ongoing play actions in relative and pluralistic ways.

Even though research in pretend play is in its developmental infancy and researchers acknowledge no common definition of or set of constructs universal to it, Piaget’s views on ludic and logical functioning and their necessary interrelationships give a concrete foundation and certain legitimacy to research endeavors in this field. Piaget’s thoughts provide the descriptive spark and the rich reservoir of fuel for exploring, researching, and uncovering a dimension of development that was largely concealed and hidden in theories of human behavior (Reilly, 1974). This textbook draws together current research and thinking about pretend play and ludic-related functioning in children at largely early- (and middle-) childhood levels. It also provides a rich base of literature in both the theoretical nature and applied functioning of ludic play and play-related capacities.

Accordingly, three conceptual problems undergrid this work. These broad conceptual problems, each forming a section of this book, follow:

1. Does pretend play, as a cognitive entity, contribute to development and growth of individuals in Western and non-Western settings and with normal and handicapped populations? In a related sense, can the methodological problems be resolved in order to provide solid bases for further systematic study of pretend play and specific ludic capacities as developmental capacities and/or in social context with normal and handicapped youngsters from Piagetian as well as from other psychological perspectives?

2. Can cognitive actions antecedent to, those presumed necessary for, and those that selectively accompany playful productions (in relative and pluralistic ways), such as, exploration, novelty, and humor be differentiated from pretend play in order to further understand and investigate them in systematic ways? In a related sense, how can these differentiations between exploration, novelty, humor, playful attitudes toward objects for associative fluency, and pretend play be operationalized for purposes of systematic research and greater understanding of them as independent and contextual entities in cognitive development?

3. Is there a current and substantive research base for play actions, and how might play actions be used in applied programs to promote or facilitate possible growth? What product and process outcomes might be anticipated in using play in applied modes?

THEORETICAL PRETEND PLAY

The chapters in this section focus on the nature and origins of pretend play largely as a cognitive entity from cultural, social, and cross-cultural perspectives and with normal and handicapped children. In addition, the authors examine methodological concerns and theoretical propositions relative to pretend play in context and from selected psychological perspectives.

In responding to conceptual problems underlying pretend play, Athey provides a clear foundation and concrete set of perspectives on how it is viewed historically and in present times. Athey notes that past and present theories of play provide baselines and relevant attributes for its understanding. In similar fashion, however, these classical views have actually contributed to the neglect of play because they focused largely on its “causes.” Both play and its causes contributed to viewing it as a peripheral action to the mainstream of development and to society in general.

Sutton-Smith and Kelly-Byrne distinguish between the major theories of play by focusing on their special characteristics rather than definitional utility. Their insightful and inductive analyses of these special or structural characteristics of play theories are viewed as and arranged along a bipolar continua that is marked by equilibrating and disequilibrating points. The inherent bipolar nature of play is in fact one of the sources of methodological problems in experimentally investigating child’s play.

Schwartzman and Quinn and Rubin discuss pretend play actions and selectively identify problems of methodology in the context of research on play with cross-cultural, cross-class, and handicapped populations. Schwartzman develops selected relationships between children’s pretend play and social class and cultural variables by: (1) examining cross-cultural and cross-class studies; and (2) responding to the theoretical problem of pretend play as “deficit” or “difference” using research results from these studies. Schwartzman responds to the current problem of pretend play as deficit or difference using ethnographic data and results and examines the major assumptions concerning children’s pretend play in social-class and cross-cultural contexts. Quinn and Rubin integrate current research on play behaviors of children showing intellectual, physical, and emotional handicaps. The authors note that exploring play behaviors of the handicapped provide: (1) baselines for the study of normal children’s play actions; (2) a developmental progression to understand play of the handicapped; and (3) selected conditions that effect the growth of play in atypical populations. In addition, Quinn and Rubin in very explicit fashion describe methodological weaknesses of current play studies such as exploration versus play and suggest ideas for further research in play with the handicapped.

McCune-Nicolich and Fenson critically examine selected methodological issues basic to investigating early pretend play in children. By providing examples of methodological variations from their previous research studies and of problems of definition, McCune-Nicolich and Fenson pinpoint relevant research concerns such as the roles of decentration and decontextualization. These authors also address possible confounds in the experimental paradigms used by researchers to investigate pretend play in very young children. These critical problems related to research paradigms rest, for example, with additional factors of settings, materials, and the children themselves. Finally, McCune-Nicolich and Fenson clearly focus attention on methodological aspects of assessment and screening with normal and handicapped youngsters.

Copple, Cocking, and Mathews explore object or material-based symbolic acts in order to determine the nature of cognitive actions fundamental to pretend play of preschool children. Because pretend play evolves through interaction specific to situations and players, Copple, Cocking, and Mathews analyze verbalizations accompanying children’s object choices that can provide insight into their cognitive functioning. From analyses of data, results show that young children can display representational criteria for pretend object use. The preschooler seems to attend to attributes of objects that are relevant to their functions in the play context. In addition, preschoolers through their communicative acts show that they can reflect on object choices and recognize their own personal processes of evaluating and pretending.

Fein studies the self-building potential of pretend play by analyzing and insightfully integrating content propositions from George Herbert Mead’s ideas of pretense and structural principles from the interactionist theory of symbolic play. This analysis and integration provides a potential framework for examining the young child’s views of his changing self. In the analysis and extension, Mead’s notions of role taking comprising covert and overt role-playing behaviors can be ordered into a hierarchical series of play stages that ultimately evolve into higher-level role-reversals (i.e., when a child plays a role with a partner as a complementary other). In the process, communication is generated in the play context and the data provide clues to cognitive attributes of self and others. Through repeated role reversals, Fein’s analyses show that the social self becomes organized, differentiated from, yet related to, others in social context and content.

PLAY-RELATED ACTIONS

This section explores play-related actions, such as exploration, novelty, and humor (which can under certain conditions accompany playful productions) as well as playful attitudes toward objects for purposes of associative fluency. Second, the authors in the section determine similarities and contrasts with pretend play and explore methods and procedures for systematic research of these play-related actions as independent capacities and in social context.

The chapters by Wohlwill and Henderson center on exploration as a play-related action. Wohlwill masterfully distinguishes between exploration and pretend-object play through behavioral attributes and identifies relationships between play and exploration. In discussion of temporal relationships between exploration and play, Wohlwill identifies selected functions of play materials and shares results of a study that suggests that these temporal interrelationships (between exploration and pretend-object play) may rest, in part, on choice and use of materials. In similar yet distinct ways, Henderson’s core thesis is that social situations may effect what is explored and how it is explored. In reviewing the empirical literature on social context, Henderson expertly identifies basic assumptions of exploration and analyzes it in social contexts of object, structure, and function. In addition, the effects that parents, other adults, and peers have on children’s exploration are described.

Ellis conceptually analyzes play behavior from varying systems of interpretation generated to explain these and other functional behaviors in the context of physical and social environments. Hypothesizing that play provides data to the player who possesses these novel cognitive configurations with internal rewards, Ellis describes the impact of collative properties of stimuli, for example, novelty and complexity on play behaviors. The analysis clearly focuses on the property of novelty that alerts the child to play and subsequently maintains his interest in it. The author outlines a “progression to and in play” that enables children to employ their physical and social milieu for rewarding stimuli.

McGhee argues quite convincingly that humor, a form of intellectual play with ideas, has intersecting cognitive elements with play, but is a different type of playful production. In addition, he explores cognitive aspects of humor development and, in a similar vein with Ellis, the role of incongruity. In reality assimilation and fantasy assimilation, two separate cognitive ways that individuals come to understand incongruous events, McGhee argues for the latter symbolic process as central to humor. Derived from McGhee’s research studies, four cognitive stages of humor development are also explained and examined.

Pellegrini summarizes selected studies of facilitating young children’s associative fluency and extends them in his own research by differentiating between explorative and pretend play behaviors. In observing that the child’s ability to form relationships about objects and show playful attitudes toward them are bases of associative fluency, Pellegrini contends that creative uses of conventional objects may vary according to his familiarity with attributes of and his attitude toward them. Pellegrini’s results show that associative fluency can be facilitated through training: (1) exploration of objects’ attributes by responding to descriptive, then convergent and divergent classification questions; and (2) abilities to classify objects divergently. In concluding his sound analysis, Pellegrini notes that exploration of as well as divergent thinking about objects result in increased associative fluency in young children.

PLAY AS APPLIED ACTIONS

In the final section of this text, the various chapters examine and extend selected substantive research on pretend play for purposes of applied programming with young children. In developing implications for application from investigations, the utility of play for growth of young children is employed in varying settings (e.g., elementary classrooms and preschools, counseling sessions, and hospitals) and differing situations (e.g., fantasy, grammatic, and individual play tutoring).

The chapters completed by Glickman and Curry and Arnaud argue logically for justifying play as a means for education in public elementary schools and for development in preschools. Through a survey of results of play research, Glickman develops implications of play as constructive bases for elementary school programming. In addition, he weaves his sound argument around the purposes of public education from historical and philosophical perspectives. Throughout his narrative, it becomes apparent that play could be employed as a basis for curriculum programming in elementary education. However, the public who supports the elementary schools must conceptually and practically reconsider the purposes of education of young and older children in order to increase the roles of play and its powers for cognitive, social, and motor growth and learning.

With similar justification and intent to harness the powers of play, Curry and Arnaud view it as significant utility for developmental preschools. With implications drawn from their own research and related studies, Curry and Arnaud develop methods to facilitate pretend play for optimal social, intellectual, and physical growth of young children. Realizing that pretend play varies as a function of the child’s developmental level, previous experiences, and present classroom climate, they masterfully consider three aspects of play facilitation (i.e., environments, adults, and peers).

Both L. Guerney and Bolig view play and its various forms as facilitators of young and older children’s growth in counseling and hospital settings, respectively. L. Guerney draws expertly from classical views and current research studies to explain the significance of play and shows clearly how play forms can contribute to therapeutic intervention with children in counseling settings. From therapeutic and varying psychological perspectives, she summarizes play theories (e.g., psychoanalytic, release therapy) and client relationships (e.g., theraplay, behavioral). Enligntening also is L. Guerney’s description of roles, functions, methods, and strategies used by the counselor for purposes of child diagnosis and client intervention (e.g., limit setting and play materials).

Bolig’s chapter reviews selected possible effects of hospitalization and functions of play in this setting. The play elements used in hospitals share some of the same attributes of nondirective play therapies including ameliorative functions and serve multiple roles depending on the hospital’s philosophy. Bolig notes the type of child’s illness (or condition) requiring hospitalization is the primary consideration for play programming (e.g., children in psychological and/or physiological stress and those that are bedridden or isolated). In recognizing the needs of children and the philosophy of the hospital, Bolig describes several types of play programming that may assist their recuperation.

Williamson and Silvern and Mann in their respective chapters both employ pretend play as a potential facilitator of selected cognitive abilities in young children. Williamson and Silvern thoroughly review classical and current research studies and argue convincingly for the effects of play on young children’s growth. Focusing on the potential effects of d...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword: James E. Johnson
• 1. Selected Introductory Notes on Child’S Play as Developmental and Applied: Thomas D. Yawkey
• 2. Contributions of Play to Development: Irene Athey
• 3. The Phenomenon of Bipolarity in Play Theories: Brian Sutton-Smith and Diana Kelly-Byrne
• 4. Imaginative Play: Deficit or Difference?: Helen B. Schwartzman: Helen B. Schwartzman
• 5. The Play of Handicapped Children: Joanne M. Quinn and Kenneth H. Rubin
• 6. Methodological Issues in Studying Early Pretend Play: Lorraine McCune-Nicolich and Larry Fenson
• 7. Objects, Symbols, and Substitutes: The Nature of The Cognitive Activity During Symbolic Play: Carol E. Copple, Rodney R. Cocking, and Wendy S. Matthews
• 8. The Self-Building Potential of Pretend Play or “I Got A Fish, all by Myself”: Greta G. Fein
• 9. Relationships Between Exploration and Play: Joachim F. Wohlwill
• 10. The Social Context of Exploratory Play: Bruce B. Henderson
• 11. Play, Novelty, and Stimulus Seeking: Michael J. Ellis
• 12. Play, Incongruity, and Humor: Paul E. McGhee
• 13. The Effects of Exploration and Play an Young Children’s Associative Fluency: a Review and Extension of Training Studies: Anthony D. Pellegrini
• 14. Play in Public School Settings: a Philosophical Question: Carl D. Glickman
• 15. Play in Developmental Preschool Settings: Nancy E. Curry and Sara H. Arnaud
• 16. Play Therapy in Counseling Settings: Louise F. Guerney
• 17. Play in Hospital Settings: Rosemary Bolig
• 18. Creative Dramatic Play and Language Comprehension: Peter A. Williamson and Steven B. Silvern
• 19. Effects of Realistic and Unrealistic Props on Symbolic Play: Bruce L. Mann
• Author Index
• Subject Index