Developments in Play for Young Children

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Cognitive Processes

Abstract

Developments in children’s play activities were investigated in a cross-sectional sample of 289 children who were developing typically. The purpose was to update the descriptive studies of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, to cover a broader age span in a single study, and to determine the pattern of qualitative changes in play.
Children were observed in their homes, with a familiar caregiver. Videorecorded, 30-minute, naturally occurring play observations were taken at 8, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60-months of age, with 47% boys across those ages. Of the sample, 70% were white, 14% were of mixed racial/cultural backgrounds, 6% were African American, 7% were Asian, and 3% were Latinx. The Developmental Play Assessment (DPA: Lifter, 2000) with modification, was administered, consisting of a 30-minute videorecorded observation of children’s natural play across four sets of toys. Demographic information and family activities were gathered. The Battelle Developmental Inventory – Screening Test – revised edition (BDI-2-ST: Newborg, 2005) was administered. The observations were scored exhaustively to include all actions on objects – with previously empirically identified categories included with new, empirically identified categories – to ensure a comprehensive analysis of developments in children’s play. Interobserver agreement for identifying play behaviors ranged from .82 – 1.00. The children’s progress in the categories was analyzed in terms of the frequency of category occurrence and the variety of examples that were expressed within a category.
A total of 27 qualitatively different categories were identified. Some occurred with robust frequency and variety, and others did not, despite their occurrence in the literature. Generally, the children’s expression of play activities yielded simpler categories more frequently than the complex ones. Some categories did not appear with the youngest groups but did appear with the older groups. A within-subjects analysis of variance revealed significant interactions between age and category for both frequency and variety. The results suggested fairly high effect sizes for each of the main effects and interactions as indicated by the partial η2 values (Cohen, 1992). The squared partial correlations for frequency and variety yielded differences among the categories in terms of effect sizes.
Discussion centers on the measurement of play as a developmental phenomenon and the mechanisms underlying the identification of viable categories. Several aspects of the methodology distinguish this study: a sample of 289 children; generating qualitatively different categories of play from the observations; the large age span of coverage; 30-minutes of videorecorded observation, with four toy sets; an exhaustive event recording system; and the use of variety and frequency as measures. Particular categories of play appeared to reveal developments in knowledge over and above the impact of age. The cognitive mechanisms underlying progress in play appear to be a result of developments in mental representation, the symbolic function, and the differentiation of the “other” as an active agent. Additional mechanisms center on the knowledge that is accrued through experience and solving problems. All are a function of age (i.e., development) as children actively engage with the objects, people, and events of their worlds.

Group Authors

N/A

Authors

• Karin Lifter, Northeastern University
  Presenting Author

• Emanuel J Mason, Northeastern University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amanda Cannarella
  Non-Presenting Author