Can the early childhood play of preschoolers foreshadow the form and complexity of adult ongoing consciousness? The beginnings of make-believe play in children from about two years of age are reviewed starting with transitional objects, play with soft toys, or imaginary playmates. The roles of pretending and story-telling play are next examined and their contribution not only to sheer enjoyment but to an array of cognitive, social, and emotional skills are considered. We discuss the contribution of adults as nurturers and enhancers of such play. We turn finally to the aspects of adult consciousness: wakeful perception; identification, labeling, and encoding; guided imagery, mental trial actions, and playfulness. The features of childhood play may be seen to foreshadow an array of functions of ongoing conscious thought, especially its narrative components and, following Baars' theory, its role as a “theater” for prioritizing, decision-making, contextualizing, and creativity.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaarsB. (1997). In the theater of consciousness. New York: Oxford University Press.
2.
BaarsB. (1998). A cognitive theory of consciousness. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
3.
BellinH., & SingerD. G. (2006). My magic story car: Video-based play intervention to strengthen emergent literacy of at-risk preschoolers. In SingerD. G.GolinkoffR. M., & Hirsh-PasekK. (Eds.), Play=Learning: How play motivates and enhances cognitive and social-emotional growth. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4.
BerkL. E.MannT. D., & OganA. T. (2006). Make-believe play: Wellspring for development of self-regulation. In SingerD. G.GolinkoffR. M., & Hirsh-PasekK. (Eds.), Play=Learning: How play motivates and enhances cognitive and social-emotional growth. New York: Oxford University Press.
5.
BelskyJ., & MostR. (1981). From exploration to play: A cross-sectional study of infant free play behavior. Developmental Psychology, 17, 630–639.
6.
BorelliJ. L., & DavidD. H. (2003–2004). Attachment theory and research as a guide to psychotherapy practice. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 23(4), 257–288.
7.
BrunerJ. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8.
CemoreJ. J., & HerwigJ. S. (2005). Delay of gratification and make-believe play of children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 19(3), 251–266.
9.
Ciba Foundation Symposium 174. (1993). Experimental and theoretical studies of consciousness. Chichester, England: Wiley.
10.
DanskyJ. (1980). Make-believe: A mediator of the relationship between play and creativity. Child Development, 51, 576–579.
11.
EpsteinS. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologist, 49, 709–724.
12.
EpsteinS. (1999). The interpretation of dreams from the perspective of cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory. In SingerJ. A. & SaloveyP. (Eds.), At play in the fields of consciousness (pp. 51–82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
13.
FeinG. G. (1981). Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review. Child Development, 52, 1095–1118.
14.
FreudS. (1908/2). Creative writers and daydreaming. In StracheyJ., The complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, 9 (pp. 141–154). London: Hearth Press.
15.
FreudS. (1911/2). Formulations regarding two principles in mental functioning. In the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, 12, 213–226. London: Hogarth Press.
16.
FreudS. (1933/2). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. In StracheyJ. A. (Ed. & Tr.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, 22, 3–184.
17.
GarveyC. (1979). An approach to the study of children's role play. The Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 1(4), 69–73.
18.
GleasonT. (2002). Social provisions of real and imaginary relationships in early childhood. Child Development, 38, 979–992.
19.
GleasonT. (2004). Imaginary companions: An evaluation of parents as reporters. Infant and Child Development, 13, 199–215.
20.
GoldsteinK. (1940). Human nature in the light of psychopathology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
21.
GrigorenkoE. L.JarvinL. & SternbergR. H. (2002). Schoolbased tests of the triarchic theory of intelligence: Three settings, three samples, three syllabi. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 167–208.
22.
HarringtonD.BlockJ. H., & BlockJ. (1987). Testing aspects of Carl Rogers' theory of creative environments: Child rearing antecedents of creative potential in young adolescents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 851–856.
23.
HarrisP. (2000). The work of the imagination. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.
24.
HodappR. M.GoldfieldE., & BoyatzisC. (1984). The use and effectiveness of maternal scaffolding in mother-infant games. Child Development, 55, 772–781.
25.
HoneycuttJ. M. (2003–2004). Imagined interaction conflict-linkage theory: Explaining the persistence and resolution of interpersonal conflict in everyday life. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 23(1), 3–26.
26.
IzardC. (1991). The psychology of emotions. New York: Plenum Press.
27.
JamesW. (1890/2). The principles of psychology. New York: Dover Press.
28.
JenkinsM., & AstingtonJ. (2000). Theory of mind and social behavior: Causal models tested in a longitudinal study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 46(2), 203–220.
29.
JohnsonJ. E.ChristieJ. F., & WardleF. (2005). Play, development and early education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Allyn & Bacon.
30.
JohnsonM. K., & MulthaupK. (1992). Emotion and MEM. In ChristiansonS. A. (Ed.), The handbook of emotion and memory (pp. 33–66). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
31.
KavanaughR., & HarrisP. (1999). Pretense and counterfactual thought in young children. In Tamis-LeMondaC. & BalterL. (Eds.), Child psychology: A handbook of contemporary issues. New York: Garland.
32.
KavanaughR.WhittingtonS., & CerboneM. (1983). Mothers' use of fantasy in speech to young children. Journal of Child Language, 10, 45–55.
33.
KlingerE. (1971). Structure and functions of fantasy. New York: Wiley.
34.
KreitlerH., & KreitlerS. (1976). Cognitive orientation and behavior. New York: Springer.
35.
LeslieA. (1987). Pretense and representation: The origins of “Theory of Mind.”Psychological Review, 94, 412–422.
36.
LillardA. S. (2001). Pretend play as twin earth: A social-cognitive analysis. Developmental Review, 21, 495–531.
37.
LittC. J. (1986). Theories of transitional object attachment: An overview. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 9, 383–399.
38.
LittH. (1973). Imagery in children's thinking. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Liverpool University.
39.
MacKeithS. (1982–1983). Paracosms and the development of fantasy in childhood. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 2(3), 261–268.
40.
MandlerG. (1984). Mind and body. New York: Norton.
41.
MeinsE. C.FernyhoughR.WainwrightM.Das GuptaM.FradleyE., & TuckeyM. (2002). Maternal mind-mindedness and attachment security as predictors of theory of mind understanding. Child Development, 73(6), 1715–1726.
42.
MeinsE. C.FernyhoughR.WainwrightM.Clark-CarterE.Das GuptaM.FradleyE., & TuckeyM. (2003). Pathways to understanding mind: Construct validity and predictive validity of maternal mind-mindedness. Child Development, 74(4), 1194–1211.
43.
MischelW., & BakerN. (1975). Cognitive appraisals and transformations in delay behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 254–261.
44.
MischelW.EbbesenE., & ZeissA. (1972). Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21, 204–218.
45.
NicolopoulouA.McDowellJ., & BrockmeyerC. (1907). Narrative play and emergent literacy: Story play and story writing meets journal writing. In SingerD. G.GolinkoffR. M., & Hirsh-PasekK. A. (Eds.), Play=Learning: How play motivates and enhances cognitive and social-emotional growth. New York: Oxford University Press.
46.
Root-BernsteinR., & Root-BernsteinM. (1999). Sparks of genius: The thirteen thinking tools of the world's most creative people. New York: Houghton-Mifflin.
47.
Root-BernsteinM., & Root-BernsteinR. (2004). Paracosms and imaginary friends in the childhoods of creative adults. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Hawaii.
48.
RosenC.SchwebelD., & SingerJ. L. (1997). Preschoolers' attributions of mental states in pretense. Child Development, 66, 1133–1142.
49.
RosengrenK. S.JohnsonC., & HarrisP. L. (2000). Imagining the impossible: Magical, scientific and religious thinking in children. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
50.
RussS. W. (1993). Affect and creativity: The role of affect and play in the creative process. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
51.
RussS. (2004). Play in child development and psychotherapy: Toward empirically supported practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
52.
RussS. W.RobinsA. L., & ChristianoB. A. (1999). Pretend play: Longitudinal prediction of creativity and affect in fantasy in children. Creativity Research Journal, 12, 129–139.
53.
SchwebelD.RosenC., & SingerJ. L. (1999). Preschoolers' pretend play and theory of mind: The role of jointly conducted pretense. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 17, 333–348.
54.
ShmuklerD. (1981). Mother-child interaction and its relationship to the predisposition of imaginative play. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 104, 215–235.
55.
ShmuklerD. (1982–1983). Preschool imaginative play predisposition and its subsequent third grade assessment. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 2(3), 231–240.
56.
ShmuklerD., & NavehI. (1984–1985). Structured vs. unstructured play training with economically disadvantaged preschoolers. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 4(3), 293–304.
57.
SilveyR., & MacKeithS. (1988). The paracosm: A special form of fantasy. In MorrisonD. C. (Ed.), Ongoing early experience: Imagination and cognition in childhood (pp. 173–197). Amityville, NY: Baywood.
58.
SingerD. G. (1993). Playing for their lives. New York: Free Press.
59.
SingerD. G., & SingerJ. L. (1990). The house of make-believe: Children's play and the developing imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
60.
SingerD. G., & SingerJ. L. (2005). Imagination and play in the electronic age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
61.
SingerD. G.SingerJ. L.PlaskonS. L., & SchwederA. E. (2003). A role for play in the preschool curriculum. In OlfmanS. (Ed.), All work and no play: How educational reforms are harming our preschoolers (pp. 59–101). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
62.
SingerD. G., & SingerJ. L. (2004). Encouraging school readiness through guided pretend games. In ZiglerE.SingerD. G., & Bishop-JosefS. (Eds.), Children's play: The routes of reading (pp. 175–187). Washington, DC: Zero-to-Three Press.
63.
SingerJ. L. (1955). Delayed gratification and ego-development: Implications for clinical and experimental research. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 19, 259–266.
64.
SingerJ. L. (1961). Imagination and waiting ability in young children. Journal of Personality, 29, 396–413.
65.
SingerJ. L. (1966). Daydreaming. New York: Random Press.
66.
SingerJ. L. (1973). The child's world of make-believe. New York: Academic Press.
67.
SingerJ. L. (2006). Imagery in psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
68.
SingerJ. L., & BonannoG. A. (1990). Personality and private experience: Individual variations in consciousness and in attention to subjective phenomena. In PervinL. (Ed.), Handbook of personality (pp. 419–444). New York: Guilford Press.
69.
SingerJ. L., & LythcottM. (2002). Fostering school achievement and creativity through sociodramatic play in the classroom. Research in the Schools, 9(2), 43–52.
70.
SingerJ. L., & SaloveyP. (1991). Organized knowledge structures and personality: Person schemas, self-schemas, prototypes and scripts. In HorowitzM. J. (Ed.), Person schemas and recurrent maladaptive interpersonal patterns (pp. 33–79). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
71.
SingerJ. L., & SingerD. G. (1981). Television, imagination and aggression: A study of preschoolers. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
72.
SladeA. (1987). A longitudinal study of material involvement and symbolic play during the toddler period. Child Development, 58, 367–385.
73.
SladeA. (2002). Moments of regulation and the development of self-narratives. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adult Psychotherapy, 2, 1–10.
74.
SmithP., & VollstedtR. (1985). On defining play: An empirical study of the relationship between play and various play criteria. Child Development, 56, 1042–1050.
75.
SternbergR. (1999). The theory of successful intelligence. Review of General Psychology, 3, 292–316.
76.
SternbergR., & GrigorenkoE. (2000). Teaching for successful intelligence. Arlington Heights, IL: Skylight Professional Development.
77.
TaylorM. (1999). Imaginary companions and the children who create them. New York: Oxford University Press.
78.
TaylorS. (1989). Positive illusions: Creative self-deception and the healthy mind. New York: Basic Books.
79.
TomkinsS. S. (1962/2). Affect, imagery, consciousness (Vols. 1 & 2). New York: Springer.
80.
TomkinsS. S. (1970). A theory of memory. In AntrobusJ. S. (Ed.), Cognition and affect (pp. 59–130). Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
81.
TowerR. B. (1980). The influence of parents' values on preschool children's behaviors. Doctoral dissertation, Yale University.
82.
TowerR. B. (1983). Imagery: Its role in development. In SheikhA. A. (Ed.), Imagery: Current theory, research and application (pp. 222–251). New York: Wiley.
83.
VygotskyL. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
84.
WinnicottD. W. (1971). Playing and reality. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin.
85.
ZiglerE.SingerD. G., & Bishop-JosefS. (Eds.). (2004). Children's play: The roots of reading. Washington, DC: Zero-to-Three Press.
86.
ZiglerE., & Bishop-JosefS. (2006). The cognitive child vs. the whole child: Lessons from 40 years of Head Start. In SingerD. G.GolinkoffR. M., & Hirsh-PasekK. (Eds.), Play=Learning: How play motivates and enhances children's cognitive and social-emotional growth. New York: Oxford University Press.
