Reviews literature concerning the relationship between symbolic play and ideational fluency. Discusses a study relating preschool symbolic play to aspects of divergent cognitive style. Symbolic play at preschool was related to ideational fluency and measures of flexibility, originality, and intelligence three years later. (RJC)

An anthropological description of interaction between two boys with profound developmental disabilities, living in a state institution, is offered. The socio-cultural analysis revealed behavior patterns which demonstrated feelings, communication, autonomy in play, and purposeful interaction in the attainment of a goal. (JDD)

This study investigated prekindergarten children's uses of written language within the context of their symbolic play. (PCB)

Two studies examined the relationship between maternal responsiveness, child compliance, and mood in 54 mothers and their 4-year-old children. Responsive play increased positive mood but did not affect arousal levels. Children induced into positive moods complied more and with shorter latencies than children induced into negative moods. (RJC)

Argues that introducing preschoolers to the kinds of formal basic skills instruction they will receive in elementary school fosters "learned stupidity" and merely teaches the ability to memorize concepts that have no meaning. Advocates that preschool programs focus on play, motor skills, and that which is visible, tangible, and audible. (DMM)

Studied 24 pairs of 4-year olds, including long-term friend, short-term friend, and never-friend dyads. Long-term friends were more likely than children of other friendship status groups to use communicative behavior that extended pretend play in a more complex way. (DR)

Generating ideas for play and following instructions were studied with 15 children (ages 6 to 15) with autism, 15 children with learning difficulties, and 15 younger normal children. Children with autism were as able as controls in following instructions; they were impaired at generating original actions with a car but were not impaired with a…

Children who interacted with a robot that spoke reciprocally to them uttered more speech that maintained the topic of conversation, and engaged in more verbally mediated social play than children who interacted with a randomly speaking robot. Gender differences in children's looking at their mother in the room were observed. (BC)

Anecdotes of children in a Hawaii homeless shelter illustrate the ways in which play therapy helps sibling groups manage family crises, resolve conflicts, and express difficult feelings. (LB)

Cites research which suggests that U.S. playgrounds are hazardous and developmentally sterile. Factors that affect the relationship of playgrounds to child development include (1) the developmental appropriateness of playground environments; (2) gender differences in outdoor play; (3) well-equipped play environments; (4) the use of portable play…

The ability of 24 children with autism (ages 3-12) to comprehend pretend acts, consisting of an experimenter pouring a pretend substance from a container onto a target figure, was explored. There was no significant difference between subjects and controls in ability to identify the pretend substance, predict the actions' pretend outcome, or…

Examines individual variation in infants' exploratory play with objects. Distinguishes exploratory and nonexploratory manipulative play, and shows that only exploratory play relates to focused attention and learning. Discusses resistance to distraction during focused attention, relationships between exploratory play and mastery motivation, and the…

Investigates whether pretend play is an area of advanced understanding with reference to certain skills that are implicated in both pretend play and a theory of mind, including the ability to (1) represent one object as two things at once; (2) see one object as representing another; and (3) represent mental representations. (MDM)

Based on studies of girls' loss of voice and self-confidence in early adolescence, the author introduces a poetics of research grounded in feminist epistemology to explore why this happens and how women can recover their "courage"--to speak one's mind by telling all one's heart. (SK)

This study investigated the amount, quality, and persistence of spontaneous repetitive play and alternative types of play with 28 children (half with Down syndrome). Down-syndrome children engaged in more repetitive activity, though the quality of play was similar for both groups. Results suggest that repetitive play may serve the same…