Playing Flashcards
What is play?
The actives that are pursued for their own sake, with no motivation other than the enjoyment they bring
What is play essential for/aids in developing?
Social skills, intelligence, creativity & problem solving
Describe why play is important to survival (rats).
If there are two groups of rats playing, and you stop one group of rats from playing, but allow them in another, but then scare them. They will both hide, but they will eventually come out and test the environment again, whereas the rats who never played will never come out.
What did early humans use play for?
To overome innate tendencies for aggression and dominance, this helped support a cooperative way of life.
What does social play counteract tendencies towards?
Greed and arrogance whilst showing concern for feelings and wellbeing of others.
What are the suggested benefits of play?
- Contribues to a healthy brain development
- Promotes attention and academic performance
- Supports creative problem solving
- Correlates with self-regulation
- Encourages exploration
What evidence is there that play improves memory, cognitive performance and situates the growth of the cerebral cortex?
- Rats raised in ‘enriched’ environment had thicker cortexes than those raised in isolation
- ‘Enriched’ rates made fewer errors on tasks of spatial awareness and could go through mazes more quickly
What evidence is there that in human infants playful activity makes a positive difference in brain development?
Children who don’t play much develop brains that are 20% - 30% smaller than what they should be for their normal age
What % are children’s brains smaller said be for their age if they don’t play?
20% - 30%
What type of evidence that early play behaviour predict later academic attainment?
Longitudinal
Give an example of a type of play that can be used to predict later school attainment grades.
The complexity of a children block play at age 4 was related to their maths achievements in high school
Give an example of a type of play that can be used to predict later school attainment grades.
The complexity of a children block play at age 4 was related to their maths achievements in high school, this was after being controlled for gender and IQ!
What type of break is there with evidence suggesting that it maximises attention and performance for primary school children?
Playful
Explain some of the benefits of having playful breaks in primary school children.
- More important for boys
- Gives an opportunity for movement which reduces fidgeting and maximises attention for class
- PE is not a substitution, they need to do it without instruction
What evidence is there to support why Chinese and Japanese children have a higher rate of academic achievement to American children.
- Intesene concentration/attention which could be related to the amount of opportunities for play they have (they have a 10-15m break for ever 40-45m class)
- American schools only have 2 recesses a day
What is a convergent problem?
There is only one correct solution
What is a divergent problem?
No single correct solution, multiple correct ones
What is a divergent problem?
No single correct solution, multiple correct ones
Describe a study that shows play supports problem solving within children.
- Preschoolers given either convergent (puzzle pieces) or divergent (blocks) activity
- Each group was then given a battery of problem solving tasks
- Children that were given the divergent materials were better at soling the divergent problems
Why were the divergent control group of children better at solving the divergent problems?
- More flexible and unique
- When solving convergent tasks, it was more flexible to abandoned ineffective techniques
What may ‘pretend play’ improve?
Self-regulation & working memory
What identifiable stages does early play follow?
- Exploratory play
- Pretend play (child centred)
- Pretend play (other centred)
- Combinatorial play
- Symbolic play
What is combinatorial play?
Onset of word combinations
What is symbolic play?
Onset of multi-word utterances
How many stages of early play are there?
5
What are the 5 stages of play said to coincide with?
The development of language,
What are the 5 stages of play said to coincide with?
- The development of language, each stage represents an important linguistic milestone
- Play itself provides a rich context for language learning as parents have an opportunity to talk about objects and actions
How many developmental stages of play are there?
4
What are the developmental stages of play?
- Solidarity play
- Parallel play
- Associative play
- Cooperative play
When does pretend play emerge?
Around 18 months
What are characteristics of pretend play?
- Make-believe activities
- They often engage in object substation, so pretending an object is something other than itself
When does sociodramatic play occur?
About a year after pretend play
Whats an example of sociodramatic play?
Tea parties
What does the child need to have the ability to do to engage in pretend play?
The child needs to require the ability to transform objects and action symbolically
What are some benefits of pretend play?
- Could help to expand child’s understanding of the social world
- Evidence that the more a child engages in pretend play the more they understand other peoples thinking and emotions
What % of preschoolers are said to have imaginary friends
63%
Does having an imaginary friend impact either positively or negatively upon a child?
There was no difference in: intelligence, personality or creativity
Does having an imaginary friend impact either positively or negatively upon a child?
There was no difference in: intelligence, personality or creativity
What were children with imaginary friends more likely to do/be?
- First born, or only child
- Watch little TV
- Be verbally skilful
- Have advanced theories of mind
What is nonsocial play defined as?
Solidarity activities in the presence of peers
What can some forms of nonsocial play reflect?
Psychosocial maladaptation
What is social withdrawal a strong prediction of?
- Peer rejection
- Social anxiety
- Loneliness
- Negative self esteem
- Negative implications for academic success
What types of play do children with ASD find difficult?
Pretend play & cooperative play
What do child with ASD find hard to understand?
Social rules
What does research show that children with autism are less likely to engage within?
Pretend play
What is play therapy there to aid?
It is to help children explore their emotions, behavioural difficulties and understand trauma
What is the specific therapy of ASD there to help with?
Understand social rules, how to communicate and how to feel as part of group
What is the specific therapy of ASD there to help with?
Understand social rules, how to communicate and how to feel as part of group
What is play therapy used for generally?
- Treating psychologica problems
- Used for younger children
What does play therapy involve?
- Developing a deep positive relationship with the therapist, which in turn should help children express their concerns
- From this strategies can be developed to help them develop
At what age are gender type play choices most likely to be seen from?
2 years
- Girls: Dolls, kitchen sets, dressing up
- Boys: Cars, trucks, building toys
What are some consequences of play deprivation?
- Texas Tower Murderer
- Killed 17 people
- Wounded 41
- Murdered his wife and mother
- Investigation was done and it was found that Charles was deprived of play, which was a key factor in motive behind the attacks
What is neoteny?
The retention of childlike characteristics into adulthood, ‘holding youth’
What are some of the reasons we play?
- Learn
- Create
- Feel challenged
- Relax and loosen ourselves
- Promote cooperation
What are some benefits of playing as an adult?
- Improves brain function
- Boosts creativity
- Teaches cooperation
- Relieves stress
- Helps to develop/improve social skills
What has play in the workplace been linked to?
- High job satisfaction
- Greater workplace moral
- Better team work
