In order to examine under what circumstances preschool children invent plotted narratives this study looked at the effects on narrative structures of pretend play and storytelling settings. The inclusion of a conflict or problem was also studied. Forty middle-class American children (nineteen 4-year-olds and twenty-one 5-year-olds) played with replica toys and made up stories based on drawings of characters. It was observed that 66% of plotted narratives occurred in storytelling and that 5-year-olds were more likely to produce them (33%, compared to 5% of 4-year-olds). While age was not associated with including a conflict or problem, plotted narratives were most likely to have these. Analyses suggest that 4- and 5-year-olds both understand the demands of telling a story, but that 5-year-olds have a usable mental model of a story.
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