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The Development of Play During Childhood: Forms and Possible Functions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 1998

Anthony D. Pellegrini  and
Peter K. Smith
Anthony D. Pellegrini
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Burton Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Peter K. Smith
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW
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Abstract

In this review we consider the nature and possible developmental functions of three forms of play: pretend, social, and locomotor. Play is defined in terms of dispositional and contextual criteria. First, the frequency of occurrence of each form of play across the period of childhood is documented. Developmental function of play is conceptualised in terms of immediate or deferred beneficial consequences. Four strategies for examining developmental function are reviewed: arguments from design, correlational analyses, experimental enrichment and deprivation, and cost-benefit analyses. Whereas most theories of play implicitly assume that during childhood it occurs frequently and has benefits deferred until adulthood, we suggest that some benefits of play are immediate.

Keywords

Playdevelopmentfunction
Type
Forum on Play
Information
Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , May 1998 , pp. 51 - 57
Copyright
© 1998 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry

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