The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence.

Abstract

Pretend play has been claimed to be crucial to children's healthy development. Here we examine evidence for this position versus 2 alternatives: Pretend play is 1 of many routes to positive developments (equifinality), and pretend play is an epiphenomenon of other factors that drive development. Evidence from several domains is considered. For language, narrative, and emotion regulation, the research conducted to date is consistent with all 3 positions but insufficient to draw conclusions. For executive function and social skills, existing research leans against the crucial causal position but is insufficient to differentiate the other 2. For reasoning, equifinality is definitely supported, ruling out a crucially causal position but still leaving open the possibility that pretend play is epiphenomenal. For problem solving, there is no compelling evidence that pretend play helps or is even a correlate. For creativity, intelligence, conservation, and theory of mind, inconsistent correlational results from sound studies and nonreplication with masked experimenters are problematic for a causal position, and some good studies favor an epiphenomenon position in which child, adult, and environment characteristics that go along with play are the true causal agents. We end by considering epiphenomenalism more deeply and discussing implications for preschool settings and further research in this domain. Our take-away message is that existing evidence does not support strong causal claims about the unique importance of pretend play for development and that much more and better research is essential for clarifying its possible role.

Teacher-Guided Play: Implications for Chinese Early Childhood Education in the Context of Curriculum Reform

“…Studies show free play supports children's social-emotional development as well as language and literacy learning [31]. However, being voluntary, fun and flexible, free play is chosen and controlled by children themselves without extrinsic learning goals, thus is unpredictable in learning outcomes [29].This is a major reason that the value of play in learning is questioned.…”

Children’s Responses to Different Types of Teacher Involvement During Free Play

“…Likewise, Weisberg, HirshPasek, and Golinkoff (2013a) argue that, given the complexity of the play construct, it should be studied through different methodological approaches, including qualitative studies, and should not be limited to experimental studies. Walker and Gopnik (2013) also argue that Lillard et al (2013) did not provide the basis for future research on the relationship between pretend play and development, and suggest that "counterfactual reasoning" (i.e., related to causality learning) was related to pretend play. To better understand the relationship between play and development, more research is needed, particularly studies employing a greater breadth of methodologies.…”

“…According to the latter point of view, play should not be an important focus at school and should be left to entertain children at home. A third perspective tries to reconcile these two positions by supporting the notion of equifinality, which means that different paths can lead to the same outcome; proponents of this perspective argue that play is one of multiple processes that influence learning and development (Lillard et al, 2013;Roskos & Christie, 2010).…”

“…Lillard et al (2013) conducted a comprehensive literature review on pretend play and its relationship to different domains of development (e.g., language, executive function) that generated a debate among play researchers. Lillard and colleagues reported that play most likely has a causal relation with language and a possible causal link with reasoning, emotion regulation, and narrative.…”

A Brief History of Serious Games

“…Furthermore, pretend play in which a child roleplay societal characters -a doctor or fireman for example -can be seen as the child exploring cultural norms [2,22,23]. This underlying assumption of play's purpose is apparent in modern digital play activities -as evidenced by contemporary discussions exploring the role of digital games in expressing and reinforcing socio-civic norms [24,25].…”