Pretend Play: Longitudinal Prediction of Creativity and Affect in Fantasy in Children

Conceptual split? Parents' and experts' perceptions of play in the 21st century

“…Such play activities range from relying on familiar objects and scenarios, such as using a banana for a telephone, to fantasy-based roles and contexts, such as acting as a fairy princess in another land. Cognitive effects of symbolic play are far reaching, including enhanced abstract thought (Saltz, Dixon, & Johnson, 1977), symbolic representation (DeLoache, 2002), perspective-taking ( Youngblade & Dunn, 1995), creativity (Russ et al, 1999), memory Newman, 1990), intelligence (Johnson, Ershler, & Lawton, 1982), language (Pellegrini & Galda, 1993), and literacy (e.g., Nicolopoulou et al, 2006). It is also central to the development of self-regulation, in which children learn to manage their own behaviors and emotions (e.g., Berk, Mann, & Ogan, 2006).…”

Creativity In Psychotherapy: The Possibilities Of Its Utilization

“…Longitudinal studies demonstrated that pretend play significantly increases the cognitive flexibility of individuals from a longterm perspective (Play and the Art of Psychotherapy, 2014;Russ, 2004). Russ, Robins, and Christiano (1999) discovered that the quality of imagination and fantasy in early pretend play could predict creativity defined as divergent thinking over time independent of IQ. Another study conducted by Singer and Lythcott (2004) found that encouraging children to pretend games during play time or as a part of the curriculum resulted in enhanced imaginativeness and enhanced creativity indirectly.…”

Τhe Contribution of Music and Movement Activities to Creative Thinking in Pre-School Children

“…Early childhood researchers acknowledged the importance of play not only in promoting children's development (Singer & Singer, 1990;Slade & Wolf 1994), but also in fostering children's creativity (Balke, 1997;Russ et al, 1999). More specifically, applying the play theory to musical education, Professor Swanwick (1988) suggested that there is a correlation between major play aspects and musical activities.…”

“…Many researchers (Howard-Jones et al, 2002;Russ et al, 1999;Tarnowski, 1999) have emphasized the link between play and creative thinking in preschool education. Janjolo and Stamp (in Morin, 2001: p. 25) also noted the similarities between play and music, indicating that both have a symbolic and rule-governed nature, and are meaningful and active.…”