Exploring How Psychologists Study the Role of Play in Child Development
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition, 1995 defines
“play” as: “[Children] when children play, they do things that they
enjoy, often together or with toys.” Play is one of the most powerful
vehicles children have for trying out and mastering new social skills,
concepts and experiences. Psychologists, such as Faulkner (1995),
present evidence that play is seen as a mean of developing social
skills and interpersonal relationships with others. The first section
of the essay will present the different approaches psychologists use
in the quest to learn about the role of children’s play and their
related issues. This section will briefly define the nature of play
and the different types of play that influence social development. The
second section will evaluate the importance of play on different
aspects of social development and in various stages of an individual.
The third section will analyze how viewpoints on function of play on
development are shaped by historical and contextual factors such as
culture and economy.
Developmental psychologists use various research methods such as
naturalistic observations, interviews, experimental research and
examining the natural context of children’s everyday interaction
within the family to study the role of play in children’s development.
They apply different approaches to study different types of play. Play
by nature, creates a natural learning environment for the child.
Wasserman (1992, p135) describes five benefits of play: children are
able to create something new, take risks, avoid the fear of failure,
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...ocial development. Different types of
play promote different aspects of social development such as social
competence, achievement of sense of self and social perspective-taking
skills. However, play is not the single causal factor that promotes a
child’s social development. Family relationships and the discourse
that occurs between carers and children do influence social
development of a child. One example is the impact of divorce between
parents made the child’s social interactions with others immature and
ineffective (Hetherington et al., 1970). Peer culture plays
significant impact on adolescent’s social development. Recent changes
in toys and changing views of childhood which focus shifts on academic
pursuits show the change in the role of play in children’s social
development across different cultures and regions.
Langlois, J. and Downs, A. (1980) Mothers, fathers, and peers as socialization agents of sex-typed play behaviours in young children. Child Development, 51, (pp 1271-1247).
The Target store located at Dallas Highway in Marietta, Georgia, was chosen for the fieldwork assignment. This particular store was selected because of recent renovations to the toy area. The new arrangement of the toy department appears slightly different than traditional organizations of toys in the past. The location of the toys is in direct relation and physical flow from the baby equipment, supplies, and apparel. Toys transition from birth in the infant area initially in terms of age demographics, type of activity, and brand of toy to more obvious gender divisions beginning in the preschool toys. In the toy section for school age children, gender separation is clearly established. Gender divisions become more obvious in this age group according to colors, themes, and character depiction. The girl toys feature pink, purple, and pastel colors. The highlighted décor in the store’s displays and packaging for girls involves embellishments such as pictures of girls, flowers, glitter, and jewels. The boy section portrays color schemes that are primarily in blue, red, yellow, gray, and black. Packaging images are of male children. The sections including educational toys, games, sporting equipment, outdoor play, sound and music, building, puzzles, and arts appear to be more gender neutral although some gender specific items can be identified by color or themes such as princess/fairytale or Ninja Turtle. The configuration of the toys clearly states that color, themes, and character representation are irrelevant to infants and toddlers, while parent’s attitudes about color and gender may be important aspects of unintentional socialization in the maturation of children. Marketing strategies appeal to children, but adult’s perception of ...
Play is frequently used to asses cognitive and social development because it is cost-effective, can lead to direct interventions, and can be used to supervise progress. (Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2008) According to Blakemore, Berenbaum, and Liben (2009) cognitive development can be assessed by cognitive- environmental and developmental- constructivist approaches. Cognitive- environmental refers to the influence that parents and peers have in modeling gender appropriate behaviors. Developmental- constructive refers to the process that children use to create their own concepts of gender and gender-appropriate behaviors.
Developmental Psychology according to Goldstein and Weiner’s (2003) Handbook of Psychology, Volume 6, Developmental Psychology states that this is the study of “how temporal changes in the familial, social, and cultural contexts of life shape the quality of the trajectories of change that individuals traverse across their life spans.” Developmental psychology is basically the study of an individual, from the cradle to the grave and how they contrast and develop in various life spans. Developmental Psychology tackles numerous concepts; however, one of the most controversial and prominent concepts which aims to elucidate the development of a child’s cognitive, emotional and behavioral state would be Diana Baumrind’s conceptualization of the parenting
I have read numerous articles on the benefits of play for children. And have witnessed it, first hand. Yet, I was looking for additional modern studies on this subject that expand to show more likeness to the fact, as opposed to opinions. Two scientists, that had actual studies which I have included links to are: A Researcher named Jaak Panksepp of Washington State University. Furthermore, Sergio Pellis, at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, is also a Researcher. They have diverse enlightenments of why play is needed for child development, but I consolidated both in this journal essay since both seemed equally important. Pellis says that animal studies did support his ideas, but that this can’t prove that play affects humans
All children play and it is something that most children do because they are having fun, but without realising children are developing and learning skills when they are engaged in play. Play helps stimulate the mind as it is practical and gives children the chance to explore and experience new situations. It can also ensure that children get to think by themselves and be spontaneous as they control their own play. Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development:
Children play because it allows them to make new friends, to explore new textures, it passes time for them in a fun way and it gives them an opportunity to develop new skills, e.g. communication skills through communicating
Psychology: An International Discipline in Context. Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia. Ginsburg, K. (2006). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bond.
Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development: “ Physical- The way children learn to move and coordinate their bodies. Cognitive-
Lifter, Karin, et al. “Overview of Play: Its Uses and Importance in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education.” Infants & Young Children, vol. 24, no. 3, 2011, pp. 225–45. CrossRef, doi:10.1097/IYC.0b013e31821e995c.
When you’re a parent, it’s common to worry if your child is developing accordingly, but more exclusively if your child seems to be delayed from other children in their age group. Every stage of development happens differently for every child, but learning to detect these skills or behaviors that are associated with each stage could be beneficial to you and your child in the long run. The three common domains of development are physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. Throughout this paper I will try to help get a different outlook and a possible understanding of the development stage of early childhood (ages 2-6). Unfortunately, I do not have any children of my own yet, but I do
Play is thought to be of central importance for young children. The idea of play has developed along with the history. It is necessary for the early childhood teachers to know some theoretical perspectives on play in order to further understand play and better working with children. This essay will introduce two theories of play, one of the traditional theories of play, which is The Recreational or Relaxation theory and one of the contemporary theories which is The Psychoanalytic theory. In the essay, these two theories of play will be compared and contrast, the implications for practice in the early childhood setting will be explained and the role of the teacher would be classified.
Before diving into my research, I reflected on the knowledge I already knew regarding play and play based learning. From experience, I know that play is an enjoyable activity for children, and even some adults. I know that there are different ways one can play. For example, playing with others is known as cooperative play and playing alone is considered solitary play. There are different types of play. For example, there is dress up or pretend games, which is considered dramatic, play and there is playing with building blocks which is constructive play. After my reflection I realized that I was more knowledgeable on the action of playing rather then the benefits of it.
In Kindergarten school, some parent believes play is the best way for young children to learn the conceptions, skills, and set a solid foundation for later school and life success. In the other hand, many parents disagree and believe play is a waste of time, messy, noisy, and uneducationall. I believe play is not waste of time, but it something worth to fight for, in this presentation I would show parent the main importance of some of the numerous kinds of play, and why play is a fundamental basis for improving children’s ability to succeed in school and life.
I reviewed Weil and Pascal’s (1990) article, The Place of Verbal Games in the Framework of In-patient Group Psychotherapy with Late Adolescents which was published in the Journal of Group Psychotherapy. This article focused the importance of games for the social and emotional development of children and adults. The article expounds on the significance of group therapy that contains the use of verbal games in a psychiatric setting with late adolescents who suffer from instability in their environments. The authors described each game that was used in group therapy along with the significance of the game as a therapeutic and a diagnostic tool (Weil & Pascal, 1990). There are clear limitations of this research that provide for an argument for