Creativity research has traditionally regarded the creative process as involving a full or partial regression of the ego to a more primitive state of consciousness. An alternative interpretation involves an ego-syntonic concept. This developmental model of ego-syntonic play and its role in creativity is derived from a synergistic combination of…

Parents were asked to complete an information form when they registered their children in an early childhood education center. Answers to a question on the form concerning each child's favorite play activities at home were collected and examined in terms of sex differences. The parents in this study reported the same sex difference in children's…

In Western societies, television has transformed the life, culture, and points of reference of the child. Its particular sphere of influence is the child's play culture. This play culture is not hermetic: it is very oriented toward manipulation; has a symbolic role as a representational medium; evolves along with the child; has a certain amount of…

The study describes a training program in which young children with severe and moderate handicaps were taught to generalize play responses to multiple sets of toys. A multiple probe design, replicated with four children, was used to assess the effects of generalization training within four sets of toys on generalization to untrained toys from four…

Designed primarily for use by ward personnel in residential facilities for the mentally retarded, the manual presents an overview of recreational services. Four papers introduce the importance of recreation and consider approaches for its provision: "Why Recreation?" (W. Lawler); "The Role of the Attendant in Providing Recreation for the Retarded"…

How videotape helps patients, teaches students and trains therapy staff (Author)

Described is an independent toy play curriculum for young handicapped children. It is explained that toys were analyzed according to functions in three classifications: functional toy skills (toys designed to elicit simple motor actions of short duration); physical toy skills (toys designed to elicit gross motor action); and constructive toy…

The importance of play and its contributions to the intellectual, social, psychomotor, and emotional growth of the child is just now being recognized and day care teachers are regularly required to justify the inclusion of play and games in programs for young children. Two types of justification are commonly heard: the nondescriptive and the…

The purpose of this study was to examine child-selected play activities of three-, four-, and five-year-old children to determine whether the choices reflected society's traditionally sex stereotyped labels. Subjects were 50 students enrolled in two nursery school programs at a midwestern university during the autumn of 1979. Three observers…

The case study reports the findings of systematic play training with a 7 year old autistic male who had never exhibited play behavior. The research procedure involved three phases: imitation training, training manipulative play, and motivation training. Training during the three phases was conducted three times per week for 7 1/2 months in a quiet…

There is a growing movement toward highly structured, competitive sports for children aged 7-12, who are at a crucial stage of physical and psychological development. Social play and gemes have important socialization and identity-formation functions. One argument supporting highly competitive sports for children is that they provide additional…

This book reproduces accounts of some of the early experimental child-centered schools. Also included is an essay on the relationship between play and learning written in the early 1900's. Early efforts at observing and recording the behavior of young children are reported. It is suggested that this book may help contemporary educators understand…

A description of how a fourth grade class filmed their class play of Cinderella. (HB)