The relation of social class differences in the social pretend play of five- to
seven-year-old children to their cognitive skills was examined. The amount and
symbolic features of social pretend play were noted in small-group freeplay
sessions. Conservation, verbal symbol substitution, and role-playing skills were
assessed individually as measures of cognitive symbolic skill. Middle class children
engaged in more social pretend play, their pretend episodes lasted longer, and their
conservation and verbal symbol substitution skills were greater. However, amount and
duration of social pretend play were unrelated to conservation and verbal symbolic
skills, and on the whole did not increase with age. These results provide no
evidence that social class differences in social pretend play in the late preschool
and early elementary school years reflect differing cognitive abilities, and have
implications for pretend play training studies at this age.
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