From exploration to play: A cross-sectional study of infant free play behavior.

Abstract

Forty infants, divided into 10 evenly spaced age groups between the ages of 7!/2 and 21 months, were observed playing with two sets of toys in their own homes for up to 30 minutes. Narrative records of the infants' behavior were coded in terms of a 12-step sequence of play development. Analysis of individual performance indicated that this level-of-play scale satisfied the requirements of a valid Guttman scale. Analyses of means revealed that frequency of mouthing and simple manipulation decreased linearly across the age period studied, whereas several types of pretense play increased linearly. Behavior that involved relating two or more materials and approximation of pretense behavior displayed curvilinear functions, which suggests that they are transitional forms of activity that link early exploration with more developmentally advanced pretense play. These results are discussed in terms of the assessment of early individual differences.

The Influence of Mouthing on Infant Vocalization

“…Object mouthing emerges early in infancy and increases between 15 and 20 weeks as reaching becomes productive (Rochat, 1989;Spencer, Vereijken, Diedrich, & Thelen, 2000). Mouthing peaks between 6 and 9 months and declines between 9.5 and 15.5 months, replaced by other forms of object exploration and manipulation (Belsky & Most, 1981;McCall, 1974;Palmer, 1989;Rochat, 1989;Ruff, 1984;Ruff et al, 1992;Whyte et al, 1994;Zelazo & Kearsley, 1980).…”

“…In a study of 7.5− to 21-month-old infants (Belsky & Most, 1981), all 40 infants displayed mouthing behavior during play with toys between 7.5 and 13.5 months. In addition to its prominence across infants, mouthing is a regularly occurring behavior both in terms of number of occurrences and duration of episodes (Kopp, 1976;Ruff, 1984;Whyte, McDonald, Baillargeon, & Newell, 1994).…”

“…The purpose of this research was to investigate characteristics of vocalizations associated with mouthing in 6-to 9-month-old infants during play with a primary caregiver. Results suggest that mouthing may influence the phonetic characteristics of vocalizations by introducing vocal tract closure and variation in consonant production.Mouthing, defined as contact of an object with the mouth, lips, or tongue (Rochat, 1989;Ruff, Saltarelli, Capozzoli, & Dubiner, 1992), is a common behavior during infancy (Belsky & Most, 1981;Fenson, Kagan, Kearsley, & Zelazo, 1976;Kopp, 1976). In a study of 7.5− to 21-month-old infants (Belsky & Most, 1981), all 40 infants displayed mouthing behavior during play with toys between 7.5 and 13.5 months.…”

Infant Manual Exploration of Objects, Surfaces, and Their Interrelations

“…objects as separate from themselves and thus tend to treat most objects in a like manner (Belsky & Most, 1980;Fenson, Kagan, Kearsley, & Zelazo, 1976;Piaget, 1952). Further, these accounts suggest that with the advent of increased representational or symbolic functioning near the end of the first year, infants begin to attribute meanings to objects independent of themselves.…”

Zgodnje sporazumevalne zmožnosti dojenčkov in malčkov: študija v Sloveniji

“…igračo dojenčka ali odraslo osebo) ter povezuje sosledje posameznih igralnih dejanj (npr. pretvarja se, da pije iz prazne steklenice, nato pa s steklenico nahrani dojenčka; Belsky in Most, 1981;O'Reilly in Bornstein, 1993). Dojenčki in malčki, stari od osem do štiriindvajset mesecev, ki so že sposobni oblikovati simbolne pretvorbe, hitreje dosegajo razvojne mejnike v govoru na področju besednjaka in slovnice jezika (Doswell, Lewis, Sylva in Boucher, 1994;McCune, 1995).…”