The effects of adult behavior on children's play
Abstract
The effects of three adult strategies on children's cognitive play were examined in an experimental study. Two adults were trained to use non-informational support, open-ended questions, and extending strategies during thirty-minute play groups while children played with Legos. Children between the ages of 40 and 70 months were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions and videotaped in same-sex pairs. The complexity of cognitive play, amount of on-task language, amount of 'no cognitive' play, and Lego structure complexity were measured. Type of adult strategy had no main effect on the average level of cognitive play, amount of on-task language, amount of 'no cognitive' play, or complexity of structure. There were significant main effects for child sex and the particular adult. There were significant interaction effects between the adult and the type of strategy on average level of cognitive play, and child sex and type of strategy on average level of cognitive play. As predicted, the extending strategy led to a greater number of short term increases in the level of cognitive play exhibited by the children. These results suggest that the effectiveness of adult strategies during children's play may depend upon individual characteristics of children and individual characteristics of adults. Strategy alone does not seem to influence how complex children's cognitive play will be.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Kontos, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Preschool education|Developmental psychology
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