Lecture 1: Children's play

• Why is it important for children to play?

  Children can learn a lot from basic things, not just expensive toys.
• How do bright colors affect children's play?

  Bright colors help with attention and coordination.
• What does a baby learn by dropping something repeatedly from a high chair?

  The baby learns about gravity and cause and effect.
• What are some concepts children explore through play?

  Shapes, colors, and the difference between things that float and things that do not.
• How does play help children participate in society?

  Children imitate adults and feel involved in the social world.
• What internal conflicts do children learn to deal with through play?

  Children learn about rules, morality, and the consequences of cheating.
• How does play contribute to problem-solving skills in children?

  Children learn the rules of objects and how to categorize them.
• What are the types of play from a developmental perspective?

  • Sensorimotor play
  • Social contingency play
  • Symbolic play
  • Object play
  • Exercise/physical/active play
  • Rough and tumble play
  • Socio-dramatic, pretend play or role play
• Who extensively studied sensorimotor play?

  Piaget extensively studied sensorimotor play.
• What is the focus of sensorimotor play?

  Learning starts with the senses, such as texture and sound.
• What is an example of social contingency play?

  Peekaboo and patty-cake are examples of social contingency play.
• When does symbolic play typically begin?

  Symbolic play typically begins around age 2.
• How does symbolic play aid cognitive development?

  It allows children to engage in more abstract and imaginative play.
• What is object play focused on?

  Object play focuses on the physical aspects of objects.
• What does exercise/physical/active play teach children?

  It teaches rules, turn-taking, and kindness.
• How does rough and tumble play differ from active play?

  Rough and tumble play is more aggressive than active play.
• In which gender does rough and tumble play occur more frequently?

  Rough and tumble play occurs 60-70% more in boys than girls.
• What is socio-dramatic play?

  Socio-dramatic play involves pretending to be someone else and requires more cognitive development.
• What are examples of roles children might pretend to take in socio-dramatic play?

  Children might pretend to be a teacher or a doctor.
• What are the developmental benefits of different types of play?

  • Sensorimotor play: Develops sensory skills.
  • Social contingency play: Enhances social interaction.
  • Symbolic play: Fosters imagination and abstract thinking.
  • Object play: Encourages understanding of physical properties.
  • Exercise play: Teaches social rules and cooperation.
  • Rough and tumble play: Develops physical skills and aggression management.
  • Socio-dramatic play: Enhances cognitive development and role understanding.
• Types of Play - role of the child

  • solitary play
  • parallel play
  • associative play
  • co-operative play
• Solitary play


  youngest toddlers usually play on their own; ignore other children playing around them; can be totally caught up in their own world and oblivious to what is going on around them.
• Parallel play


  children playing same game next to each other but with very little interaction, e.g. two children sitting next to each other drawing pictures but not talking to each other; as they grow older and develop theory of mind, they engage better with others.
• Associative play


  children also play next to each other doing the same task, but now communicate with each other, swap materials etc.
• Co-operative play


  children sit next to each other in the same game and all players in the game work towards the same shared goal.
• Parten (1932) - types of play

  • Developed some of the main categories of play that are still used today: unoccupied, onlooker, solitary play, parallel play, associative play, co-operative play.
  • also developed stages of children's play
• Rubin et al (1978)

  • Research focused on age differences: kindergarten (mAge = 63.5 months) vs preschool children (mAge = 52.4 months).
  • interested in examining social and cognitive aspects of play
  • observation took place in large classroom during children's free play time.
  • Results: preschoolers displayed more solitary, unoccupied and onlooker play, less group play.
  • preschoolers displayed more functional and less dramatic than kindergarteners
  • no difference on parallel play
• What is the focus of the study by Ramani et al (2014)?

  The impact of joint block play on children’s social and cognitive development
• How does block building contribute to children's cognitive development?

  It contributes to their development of math and spatial abilities
• What social skills can be developed through joint block building?

  It can contribute to their development of social skills and language
• What do toddlers and young preschoolers typically do when building with blocks?

  They stack a block on top of another or next to another
• How does block building change as children grow older?

  Block building becomes more sophisticated during preschool
• What are the main building behaviors of 4-year-olds compared to 5-year-olds?

  1. year-olds mainly place blocks on top of one another to make towers and posts, while 5-year-olds attend to complex features like symmetry and pattern
• What were the aims of the study conducted by Ramani et al (2014)?

  • Examine children’s communication
  • Observe building behaviors
  • Analyze coordinated actions
• With whom did the children work during the block building activity (Ramani et al, 2014)?

  They worked with a same-sex peer
• What type of task were the children asked to perform during the Ramani et al (2014) study?

  They were guided to build a house with several components
• What components were included in the house that children were asked to build in the Ramani et al (2014) study?

  Four walls and a way to get in
• How many children participated in the Ramani et al (2014) study and what were their ages?

  40 children aged 4 and 36 children aged 5
• What was the gender distribution of the participants in Ramani et al's (2014) study?

  50/50 male/female for both age groups
• What coding scheme was used in the study by Ramani et al (2014)?

  • Codes for talk
  • Codes for building behavior
  • Codes for coordinated action