Researchers have studied both competence levels and competence motivation in children. Competence motivation is usually assessed in terms of children's spontaneous preferences for optimal cognitive challenge, but actual spontaneous preferences in free play have seldom been used to assess motivation. In fact, competence level and competence…

Observations made by kindergarten teachers of their children and the researchers' observations of the same children were used in this study to examine the impact of television cartoons on children's free play behavior. Sixty-five kindergarten children and their teachers (N=18) were studied. Each child was individually interviewed and was asked the…

This Early Childhood Curriculum Manual, one of four manuals based on approaches developed in the research and demonstration program, "Celebration in Learning '76" (CIL), was designed for adults who work with young children and who wish to expand children's use of table toys in the classroom. The first chapter explores what is meant by…

This trainer's guide is designed for day care center directors and others responsible for teacher training and parent education who wish to develop and present workshops based on the manual, "Table Toys - A Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood." The guide is divided into six sections, called "sessions," which correspond to…

This paper examines aspects of role playing in young children focusing specifically on the importance of role playing, the components of role playing and how to use role playing. The importance of role playing is discussed and several reasons for believing that role playing is related to intellectual and social development and to learning language…

Defining creative drama as a teaching process that uses the inherent ability of each person to explore ideas, behavior patterns, and human relationships, this monograph is designed to help teachers create a working environment within which this process can be most productive. Various sections of the monograph provide information about how creative…

This study explored the relationships between parents' reports of their children's play with imaginary playmates at home and (1) observational ratings of children's imagination, positive emotionality, concentration, social behavior and use of language during free play at nursery school, and (2) parents' records of their children's television…

This study was designed to compare the toy/activity preferences of a group of young children, as measured by traditional procedures, with their spontaneous toy/activity choices as they occur during unstructured periods of free play. Participants in the study included fifty-seven 4-year-old children enrolled in three half-day nursery school…

The continuity of play styles of preschool children over a 1-year period was observed and related to teacher and peer reinforcement patterns influenced by sex stereotypes. Sixty-seven children, aged 18 months to 58 months, were observed in a natural setting using a behavior checklist consisting of 33 child behavior categories and 15 teacher- and…

This investigation attempts to replicate previous studies by Spivak and Shure regarding the relationship between cognitive interpersonal problem-solving capacity and behavioral adjustment in 4-year-old children. Although Spivack and Shure's only measure of behavioral adjustment was teacher ratings (with the teachers aware of the purpose of the…

The contribution of cognitive and affective experiences on empathy in children was assessed. It was expected that children receiving experience with both components would show more empathy than those receiving experience with only one or neither of these components. Six- to eight-year-olds participated in two phases, Training and Assessment. In…

Concomitant with a child's acquisition of phonological, syntactic, and semantic rules of an adult language is the need to learn pragmatic and contextual abilities for proper use of the language. As early language acquisition is closely allied with play, three children aged about 22 to 40 months were observed during play activities to determine…

This study was undertaken to explore the cultural stereotype that boys are more object-oriented and girls are more people-oriented. A total of 38 white, middle class, preschool children were observed during their free play hour at nursery school when a variety of people and objects were freely available to them. Each child was observed with a time…

This study examined the extent to which situational context differentially influences components of play. Two groups of play variables were distinguished: (1) style variables, (reflecting the overall tempo and diversity of play) and viewed as relatively sensitive indicators of short term reactions of situations; and (2) structural variables,…

This study investigated the pretend play behavior of 16 boys and girls aged 12 and 18 months. Each child was presented a standard set of stimulus materials during two home visits. For each of three 10-minute episodes, the child's pretend activities were recorded by means of a coded observation schedule. During episode 1 the child played alone,…