Four Types Of Cognitive Play

Sara Smilansky is responsible for creating and distinguishing between four types of cognitive play. The four types of cognitive play are functional play, constructive play, dramatic play and formal games with rules. Smilansky distinguished these levels of play by their cognitive complexity. For example, functional play has less cognitive complexity than constructive play whereas formal games with rules has the greatest amount of cognitive complexity. Functional play can be described as the simplest of the four levels and it usually occurs during infancy. During functional play, the infant will practice a movement and or action such as throwing, rolling or kicking a ball. These actions will usually be repetitive. Constructive play is a step

up from functional play, meaning that it is more complex. Constructive play involves the child using various objects and materials in attempts to build or make something. Dramatic play is the third level and can also be known as fantasy play as it involves fantasy people such as imaginary friends and fantasy or pretend situations. The fourth and most complex level of cognitive play is formal games with rules. Formal game with rules can be defined as organized games that have set rules and procedures. For example, hopscotch and Candy Land can both be considered formal games with rules.
Mildred B. Parten created six different types of play. Her six types of play were categorized from the least social to the most social. The six types of play are unoccupied, onlooker, solitary independent, parallel, associative, and cooperative or organized supplementary play. Unoccupied play is when the child does not participate in playing instead will intently watch anything that they find interesting. Onlooker behavior is when the child observes other children playing. The child will ask questions and may even make suggestions but will not engage in playing. Solitary independent play is when the child is playing but only playing by its self and does not play with children that may be nearby. Parallel play occurs when the child is playing independently but is beside or in close proximity to the other children. Associative play occurs when the child is actively playing with the other children and is communicating and seems genuinely interested in the events taking place. The last type of play, cooperative or organized supplementary play occurs when the child is playing in a group. The group is goal orientated and working together to create something, play a game or even create a fantasy world.

Video Clip #3
Video 3 demonstrates two young girls, around the age of 4 or 5, playing together.

Each little girl is holding a cloth doll and they are playing with the cloth dolls in a wooden doll house. The little girl in the white sweatshirt and brown hair is actively moving the doll, making it walk, go upstairs and converse with the other doll. It seems as though the little girl mentioned is actively engaged in dramatic play. As stated before dramatic play is also known as fantasy play and or pretend play and involves fantasy situations. The little girl mentioned is using the cloth dolls and the wooden house to create a fantasy situation. She pretending that the dolls are real people, making them communicate and interact with one another. The young girl appears to also be engaged in cooperative or organized supplementary play because she is creating a fantasy situation and environment with the dolls but is doing it with another little girl. The girls are communicating with one another and taking on different roles because each of them is controlling a different doll. Gender plays an active role within the social realm of play of the two girls. The girls playing together demonstrates a more social focused play rather than boys who tend to prefer dominant play. If it were two boys playing together they would most likely be having sword fights, playing with hot wheels or Nerf guns rather than

dolls.

Video #4
Video number 4 involves a preschool aged little girl playing with Legos on a wooden chair. She is in a classroom surrounded by other children but does not seem to be interested in playing with any of the other children. The little girl is playing with the Legos in a manner that leads me to believe that she is building something and the placement of her Legos are goal oriented meaning that she is placing them in a specific manner to create something. The behavior that the little girl presents proves that she is engaging in constructive play. The little girl is demonstrating the solitary independent social dimension of play. She is playing by herself even though there are other child in close proximity and she has no interest in engaging with the other children. The social demands of her actions are low. The little girl is not communicating with the other children which leads me to the conclusion that she has a low set of social skills or she may just prefer playing alone.

Video #5
Video number 5 includes three young children, 2 girls and 1 boy, playing tag.

At the start of the video the children are standing together discussing the game and discussing the different rules. The girl in all pink and blonde hair seems to be the one that is determining the rules and telling the other children. The little girl is actively participating in formal games with rules because she is playing a game that involves rules and organization. The little girl also seems to be engaged in the social dimension of cooperative or organized supplementary play. She is playing with the other children and she has goals. Her goals are to chase the other children when she is “it” and run away from the other children when she is not. The little girl understands that when she is tagged she is “it” and when she tags one of the other children they become “it”. As stated in the textbook, cooperative or organized supplementary play is the most advanced and complex. Children at this age love to run and play and seem to have an endless amount of energy which may contribute to their eagerness to play with other

children