Type A behaviors were observed in a group of 48 preschool children in different free-play and competitive situations. Results are consistent with other findings on type A behavior in preschool children and suggest that the behavioral dimensions of type A (competitiveness and impatience-aggression) may emerge as early as the preschool years,…

Examines patterns of social relations established in same-sex groups of children in Minneapolis and Cincinnati. Although boys and girls establish play contexts with similar social role-taking demands, topics for play and conversational demands vary according to gender. (Author/LHW)

Examined stability of activity and attention in 48 boys, originally evaluated as outpatients in a child psychiatry clinic. Measures of gross and fine motor activity, sustained attention, and self-vocalization showed significant stability over the two years for both free play and restricted academic settings. (Author/BL)

The concurrent and predictive relations of sensorimotor behavior and play to language in the second year were assessed among 19 preterm and 20 full-term infants tested at 13 1/2 and 22 months of age. Numerous associations between play and language were identified; sensorimotor behavior and language in the same age period were relatively loosely…

Presents and illustrates by clinical examples a theoretical framework for developing, describing, and analyzing family-therapeutic techniques involving make-believe play. Induces specifications of the therapeutic goals served by the technique and its procedural details and an analysis of its rationale. Draws on a definition of the concept…

Children's natural endeavors that enable them to attain self-realization and fulfillment were given the name "self-activity" by the German philosopher Friedrich Froebel. Discussed are components traceable to the self-activity principle that appear in early childhood song materials published around the turn of the century. (RM)

In a study involving 101 severely developmentally disabled children (1-16 years old), stereotyped behaviors without objects was positively correlated with self-manipulation and chronological age and was negatively correlated with complex object manipulation, developmental age, developmental quotient, and teacher attention. Stereotyped behavior…

Research established a moderate relation between toy availability and children's development throughout early childhood. Several aspects of psychological theory appear to describe part of the relation: cognitive developmental theory, relating learning and development, script theory, theories of intrinsic motivation, and theories relating play to…

Pairs of toddlers were observed with mothers in a context structured to assess sharing behavior. Children were separated by a barrier; one child had toys and the other had no toys. The situation was then reversed. Sharing for the initially deprived peer was related to extent to which the partner had shared, suggesting operation of principle of…

Observation of 14 autistic and 14 nonautistic children of equivalent mental age revealed that autistic Ss showed evidence of attachment to their mothers. Among autistic Ss, those showing increased attachment behaviors in response to separation and reunion demonstrated more advanced symbolic play skills than those showing no attachment change.…

Reviews studies of the kinds of play that influence the cognitive development, problem solving, and imagination of children. Adults' roles in children's play are discussed. (CI)

Reviews empirical research dealing with father-infant interactions in the intact family. Results indicate fathers provide an extra source of stimulation as well as unique experiences for their infants. More similarities than differences exist in father-infant interactions as compared to mother-infant interactions; however, fathers exhibit more…

Presents results of a study indicating that constructive and dramatic play contexts affected language to the extent that children use more exophora in the constructive context and more linguistic verbs, third-person pronouns, and displaced reference tenses in the dramatic context. (HTH)

Lists games and play activities for toddlers through 10-year-olds that can be linked to specific children's books. (CI)

Compared to nonreactive toys (ones without or with restricted sensory feedback), reactive toys had a substantially greater influence on the amount of time each of three severely disabled children (6-9 years old) spent in manipulative activity. Comparative effects of two toy classes on visual attention to toy play were inconclusive. (CL)