The ontogeny and phylogeny of children’s object and fantasy play

Pellegrini, Anthony D.; Bjorklund, David F.

doi:10.1007/s12110-004-1002-z

Cited by 83 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Also supporting the adaptive function, play with objects has been described in a wide variety of human cultures throughout the world (Gosso et al, 2005;Smith, 2005). Object play is also observed in non-human mammals and great apes (Bruner, 1976;Pellegrini and Bjorklund, 2004;Power, 2000;Ramsey and McGrew, 2005;Smith, 1982). Aldis (1975) observed object play among some kinds of carnivores and to some extent among primates, although primates tend to be more engaged in serious exploration and manipulation of objects.…”

Section: Play With Dangerous Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling Experiences

2011

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This theoretical article views children's risky play from an evolutionary perspective, addressing specific evolutionary functions and especially the anti-phobic effects of risky play. According to the non-associative theory, a contemporary approach to the etiology of anxiety, children develop fears of certain stimuli (e.g., heights and strangers) that protect them from situations they are not mature enough to cope with, naturally through infancy. Risky play is a set of motivated behaviors that both provide the child with an exhilarating positive emotion and expose the child to the stimuli they previously have feared. As the child's coping skills improve, these situations and stimuli may be mastered and no longer be feared. Thus fear caused by maturational and age relevant natural inhibition is reduced as the child experiences a motivating thrilling activation, while learning to master age adequate challenges. It is concluded that risky play may have evolved due to this anti-phobic effect in normal child development, and it is suggested that we may observe an increased neuroticism or psychopathology in society if children are hindered from partaking in age adequate risky play.

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Section: Play With Dangerous Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children's Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling Experiences

2011

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“…We refer to this as the "neutralist" perspective. Other play researchers, whom we call "functionalists" (Bekoff and Byers 1998;Bjorklund and Pellegrini 2002;Fagen 1981;Pellegrini and Bjorklund, 2004;Smith 1982) have focused on the adaptive and preparatory nature of play, arguing that differing forms of play entail large costs in terms of energy expenditure and risk, with payoff coming in the form of developmental benefits. We contribute to this debate by asserting that the construction of a dichotomy between play and work obscures the effect of trade-offs and opportunity costs in determining children's time allocation across all available activities ~see Johnson and Bock (this issue) for an analogous argument regarding time allocation in juvenile nonhuman primates).…”

Section: --Maria Montessorimentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsistence ecology and play among the okavango delta peoples of botswana

Bock

Johnson

2004

Hum Nat

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Children's play is widely believed by educators and social scientists to have a training function that contributes to psychosocial development as well as the acquisition of skills related to adult competency in task performance. In this paper we examine these assumptions from the perspective of life-history theory using behavioral observation and household economic data collected among children in a community in the Okavango Delta of Botswana where people engage in mixed subsistence regimes of dry farming, foraging, and herding.We hypothesize that if play contributes to adult competency then time allocation to play will decrease as children approach adult levels of competence. This hypothesis generates the following predictions: (1) time allocated to play activities that develop specific productive skills should decline in relation to the proportion of adult competency achieved; (2) children will spend more time in forms of play that are related to skill development in tasks specific to the subsistence ecology in which that child participates or expects to participate; and (3) children will spend more time in forms of play that are related to skill development in tasks clearly related to the gender-specific productive role in the subsistence ecology in which that child participates or expects to participate.We contrast these expectations with the alternative hypothesis that if play is not preparatory for adult competence then time allocated to each play activity should diminish at the same rate. This latter hypothesis generates the following two predictions: (1) time allocation to play should be unaffected by subsistence regime and (2) patterns of time allocation to play should track patterns of growth and energy balance.Results from multiple regression analysis support earlier research in this community showing that trade-offs between immediate productivity and future returns were a primary determinant of children's activity patterns. Children whose labor was in greater demand spent significantly less time playing. In addition, controlling for age and gender, children spent significantly more time in play activities related to tasks specific to their household subsistence economy. These results are consistent with the assertion that play is an important factor in the development of adult competency and highlight the important contributions of an evolutionary ecological perspective in understanding children's developmental trajectories.

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“…First, they inspire, maintain, and enrich play (Pellegrini and Bjorklund 2004). For example, a firefighter's hat motivates children to initiate in a new play theme; the introduction of a pretend fire hose extends and elaborates the play episode.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Toys on the Play Quality of Preschool Children: Influence of Gender, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status

Trawick-Smith

Wolff

Koschel

et al. 2014

Early Childhood Educ J

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This study examined the effects of nine toys on the play of 60 3-and 4-year-old children in culturally diverse preschool classrooms. The toys, which varied in their features and intended uses, were selected from a list of those that were nominated by teachers and parents as being developmentally beneficial. Each toy was video recorded for 240 h during free play time in four different classrooms. Researchers coded 828 two-minute segments of children's play with these toys using a play quality with toys (PQT) rating instrument developed in a previous investigation. Toys were found to vary significantly in their impact on play quality. PQT scores were also found to vary for each toy depending on the gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity of the child playing with it, and the length of time it was available in the classroom. Implications for selecting toys for classrooms and observing children's play with them are presented.

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The ontogeny and phylogeny of children’s object and fantasy play

Cited by 83 publications

References 55 publications

Children's Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling Experiences

Children's Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling Experiences

Subsistence ecology and play among the okavango delta peoples of botswana

Effects of Toys on the Play Quality of Preschool Children: Influence of Gender, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status

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