Developmental psychology

- Two kinds of definition (Fagen, 1974)

    - Functional: purpose of behaviour; no external goal; should be done for play sake because it is fun; if there is an aim then it is not play.

    - Structural; behaviours performed; play signals - include laughing, smiling etc; how we distinguish between rough-and-tumble play and actual play fighting. Repeated/fragmented/exaggerated/re-ordered.

Loisos, 1967

- Distinct but not opposite approaches

- Difference between exploration and play - hard to unpack exploration behaviours from play behaviours because children tend to explore and play in similar ways.

- Something nearly all species of mammel engage in (Power, 2000)

- "Behaviour in the stimulative mode" (Reynolds, 1976) - rhesus monkeys of showed certain types of behaviour when in specific play situations.

1) Intrinsic motivation - the idea that play is motivated from within - not to satisfy any social or physical demands.

2) Positive affect - relates to the fact that play is enjoyable, and this alines with the structural definition of play.

3) Nonliterary - play often has a pretend element, and that it is not serious or literal. Aligns with the functional approach.

4) Flexibility - play is not rigid, we see variations of play across different situations. Very adaptable. Aligns with the structural approach.

5) Means/ends - most instancies, the means is more important than the end goal. Aligns with the functional approach but could support the structural approach.

- According to Garvey (1991), play is systematic and rule governed. Play is:

1) Pleasurable

2) Has no instrinsic goals

3) is spontaneous and voluntary

4) involves active engagement on part of player

5) Has certain systematic relations to what is not play - most important.

- Play must have a function (Vadenberg, 1978) - must be a reason why play is a universal action.

- Exploration play application sequence (Vadenberg, 1984; Wilson, 1975) - the idea that if you give a child a new toy or object they will explore it before they play with it. The distinction between exploration and play is more obvious in older children.

- To motivate children to learn - particularly is young children, play can make learning fun.

- Helps children become skilled at manipulating objects (Ceyne and Robin, 1983) - key type of play is object play, helps children with motor skills.

- To build confidence - can help tackle anxiety and build social skills.

- Linked to language learning - sociodramatic play where children will take on another role. Gives children the opportunity to learn language through play, and negotiations and object transformation, e.g. using a towel as a cape.Learn adult roles via sociodramatic play and object play.

- To understand emotions (Denham, 1986) - found children who were able to use negative emotions to puppets were better at reading emotional states in others.

- Parten (1932): 42 children aged 2-4 1/2 - age which there is an increase in social participation.

- 6 categories of play

1) Solitary play - play where children are playing on their own.

2) Onlooker play - watch others but won't join in.

3) Parallel play - where children will play near each other with the same toy but do not engage. Commonly seen in children around 18 months, and thought to be a useful way of getting children involved in group play. Occurs when children are still egocentric.

4) Associated play - children will engage with others in play, will do similar things or join in.

5) Cooperative play - where the play operation is in cooperation e.g. games with rules

6) Fantasy play - sociodramatic play, make believe imaginary play. 

-  Differences in group size, the sizes increase as children get older. This is after children learn about social interaction.

- Linked to stage theory of cognitive development.

- Claimed there were three types of play.

1) Practice/sensori-motor play - is not limited to the sensori-motor stage but does begin in it.

2) Symbolic/representational play

3) Games with rules e.g. football/hopscotch.

- Very simplified, move to more detailed explorations of play e.g. Similansky (1968): 4 stages:

1) Functional - can be children banging two bricks together - Aligns with Piaget's first stage.

2) Constructive - making something, playing with lego - added stage.

3) Dramatic - sociodramatic play - aligns with Piaget's 2nd stage

3) Games with rules - aligns with Piaget's 3rd stage.

- Corresponds with sensori-motor stage (0-2 years)

- Simple object play

- Concern with bodily sensation and motor development.

- In 2nd year: awareness of functions of objects in social world.

- Approx ages: 2-6 years

- Children capable of reasoning that one object can symbolising another

      - e.g. wooden brick for phone.

- Children learn and take on social roles (and gender roles)

- Act out experiences - e.g. via role play, fictional roles, family roles. Objects start to influence play from around age 3.

- Some researchers thought it was not a good example of play. It tends to be more organised and have a competitive nature to it.

- Begins in school years (around age 5)

- Most prominent form of play in middle childhood

- Explicit rrules govern behaviour

- Winners and losers

- Children learn to negotiate, reason and compete.

- Assumes play inextricably linked to cognitive development.

- Children only do certain types of play at certain types.

- Limited perspective as he only has three stages

- Rough-and-tumblr play does not fit into any of the three stages.

- Other ciews challenged Piaget's theory

     - e.g. Garvey (1991): play is inherently social from outset.