The aim of the present study is to assess the role of partner familiarity in the
organisation, duration, and content of spontaneous social pretend play in a triadic
situation where two friends are in the presence of a third familiar child. Children
were observed in a familiar room of their school, provided with two sets of matching
objects. The sample comprised 120 children (60 girls and 60 boys) aged 3;0 to 5;0
years, forming 40 same-sex triads (20 female and 20 male). Each triad of classmates
was made up of a dyad of friends, plus a familiar partner (not a friend). The
findings showed that friends prefer each other as a partner in fantasy play: Play
between friends is longer and richer than play with the third partner. The most
important sexrelated differences involve the amount of time spent in pretend play.
Girls spent nearly twice as much time in fantasy as boys. The use of two sets of
identical objects for three children, without adult presence, constituted a powerful
paradigm to evidence the effect of the degree of familiarity in children's
interaction in general, and in pretend play in particular.
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