Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Imaginative Play, Socio-emotional Competence, and Sociometric Status in Preschool Children: Common Methodological Problems and New Research Directions

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Social Creativity Research

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture ((PASCC))

  • 1934 Accesses

Abstract

Positive and effective functioning within a peer group has significant importance in the lives of even very young children. Imaginative play is considered important for the development of children’s cognitive and social skills. The following chapter provides a proposal for research on the relationship between imaginative play, socio-emotional competence, and the sociometric status of preschool children. The paper concludes with a discussion of methodological challenges in assessing children’s social competence, sociometric status, and diagnostic tasks measuring imaginative play.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Astington, J. W., & Jenkins, J. M. (1995). Theory of mind development and social understanding. Cognition & Emotion, 9(2–3), 151–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “reading the mind in the eyes” test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bierman, K. L., & Welsh, J. A. (2000). Assessing social dysfunction: The contributions of laboratory and performance-based measures. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29(4), 526–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosco, F. M., Friedman, O., & Leslie, A. M. (2006). Recognition of pretend and real actions in play by 1- and 2-year-olds: Early success and why they fail. Cognitive Development, 21(1), 3–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byom, L. J., & Mutlu, B. (2013). Theory of mind: Mechanisms, methods, and new directions. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cillessen, A. H. N. (2009). Sociometric methods. In K. H. Rubin, W. M. Bukowski, & B. Laursen (Eds.), Social, emotional, and personality development in context. Handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups (pp. 82–99). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cillessen, A. H. N., & Mayeux, L. (2004). From censure to reinforcement: Developmental changes in the association between aggression and social status. Child Development, 75(1), 147–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., & Coppotelli, H. (1982). Dimensions and types of social status: A cross-age perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 557–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell, M. J., & Lindsey, E. W. (2005). Preschool Children’s pretend and physical play and sex of play partner: Connections to peer competence. Sex Roles, 52(7–8), 497–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly, J. A., Doyle, A. B., & Reznick, E. (1988). Social pretend play and social interaction in preschoolers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 9(3), 301–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cordiano, T. J., Russ, S. W., & Short, E. J. (2008). Development and validation of the affect in Play Scale–Brief Rating version (APS–BR). Journal of Personality Assessment, 90(1), 52–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creasey, G. L., Jarvis, P. A., & Berk, L. E. (1998). Play and social competence. In O. N. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.), SUNY series, early childhood education: Inquiries and insights. Multiple perspectives on play in early childhood educationAlbany (pp. 116–143). New York: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denham, S. A., McKinley, M., Couchoud, E. A., & Holt, R. (1990). Emotional and behavioral predictors of preschool peer ratings. Child Development, 61(4), 1145–1152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, J., & Cutting, A. L. (2001). Understanding others, and individual differences in friendship interactions in young children. Social Development, 8(2), 201–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., & Hager, J. C. (2002). Facial action coding system: The manual. Salt Lake City: Research Nexus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galyer, K. T., & Evans, I. M. (2001). Pretend play and the development of emotion regulation in preschool children. Early Child Development and Care, 166(1), 93–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebart-Eaglemont, J. E., & Foddy, M. (1994). Creative potential and the sociometric status of children. Creativity Research Journal, 7(1), 47–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, F. A., & Elliott, N. S. (1990). Social skills rating system manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grob, A., Meyer, C. S., & Hagmann-von Arx, P. (2013). Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS) (2nd ed.). Bern: Hans Huber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halle, T. G., & Darling-Churchill, K. E. (2016). Review of measures of social and emotional development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 8–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howes, C., & Matheson, C. C. (1992). Sequences in the development of competent play with peers: Social and social pretend play. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), 961–974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. M., Zaslow, M., Darling-Churchill, K. E., & Halle, T. G. (2016). Assessing early childhood social and emotional development: Key conceptual and measurement issues. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 42–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krasnor, L. R. (1997). The nature of social competence: A theoretical review. Social Development, 6(1), 111–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, S., & Li, W. (1996). Peer status and perceived creativity: Are popular children viewed by peers and teachers as creative. Creativity Research Journal, 9(4), 347–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. M. (1987). Pretense and representation: The origins of “theory of mind”. Psychological Review, 94(4), 412–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, A. S. (1993). Pretend play skills and the Childs theory of mind. Child Development, 64(2), 348–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, A. S., & Kavanaugh, R. D. (2014). The contribution of symbolic skills to the development of an explicit theory of mind. Child Development, 85(4), 1535–1551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, A. S., Lerner, M. D., Hopkins, E. J., Dore, R. A., Smith, E. D., & Palmquist, C. M. (2013). The impact of pretend play on children’s development: A review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 1–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, E. W., & Colwell, M. J. (2013). Pretend and physical play: Links to preschoolers’ affective social competence. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 59(3), 330–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mostow, A. J., Izard, C. E., Fine, S., & Trentacosta, C. J. (2002). Modeling emotional, cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance. Child Development, 73, 1775–1787.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newcomb, A. F., Bukowski, W. M., & Pattee, L. (1993). Children’s peer relations: A meta-analytic review of popular, rejected, neglected, controversial, and average sociometric status. Psychological Bulletin, 113(1), 99–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, M., & Dissanayake, C. (2000). An investigation of pretend play, mental state terms and false belief understanding: In search of a metarepresentational link. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 609–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Northway, M. L., Rooks, M. M., & Moreno, J. L. (1955). Creativity and sociometric status in children. Sociometry, 18(4), 194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Root-Bernstein, M. (2014). Inventing imaginary worlds: From childhood play to adult creativity across the arts and sciences. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W., & Parker, J. G. (1998). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In W. Damon (Editor-in-Chief) & N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 619–700). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russ, S. W. (1993). Affect and creativity: The role of affect and play in the creative process. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russ, S. W. (2004). Play in child development and psychotherapy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russ, S. W. (2014). Pretend play in childhood: Foundation of adult creativity. Washington, DC: APA Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schilbach, L., Timmermans, B., Reddy, V., Costall, A., Bente, G., Schlicht, T., & Vogeley, K. (2013). Toward a second-person neuroscience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(04), 393–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seja, A. L., & Russ, S. W. (1999). Childrens fantasy play and emotional understanding. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28(2), 269–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (1990). The house of make-believe children’s play and the developing imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stagnitti, K. (2004). Understanding play: The implications for play assessment. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 51(1), 3–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swindells, D., & Stagnitti, K. (2006). Pretend play and parents’ view of social competence: The construct validity of the child-initiated pretend play Assessment. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 53(4), 314–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M., Carlson, S. M., Maring, B. L., Gerow, L., & Charley, C. M. (2004). The characteristics and correlates of fantasy in school-age children: Imaginary companions, impersonation, and social understanding. Developmental Psychology, 40(6), 1173–1187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terry, R. (2000). Recent advances in measurement theory and the use of sociometric techniques. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 88(88), 27–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1976). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. In J. S. Bruner, A. Jolly, & K. Sylva (Eds.), Play: Its role in development and evolution (pp. 537–554). Middlesex, UK: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, C. E., & Russ, S. W. (2015). Pretend play, divergent thinking, and math achievement in girls: A longitudinal study. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(3), 296–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weitzman, E., & Greenberg, J. (2002). Learning language and loving it: A guide to promoting children’s social, language, and literacy development in early childhood settings. Toronto: The Hanen Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimmer, H., & Perner, J. (1983). Beliefs about beliefs: Representation and constraining function of wrong beliefs in young children’s understanding of deception. Cognition, 13(1), 103–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, K. (1964). Creativity and Sociometric choice among adolescents. The Journal of Social Psychology, 64(2), 249–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, K., Lembright, M. L., & Corrigan, A. M. (1966). Intelligence, creative thinking, and Sociometric choice among fifth-grade children. The Journal of Experimental Education, 34(3), 83–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yawkey, T. D., & Pellegrini, A. D. (2018). Child’s play: Developmental and applied. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Youngblade, L. M., & Dunn, J. (1995). Individual differences in young Childrens pretend play with mother and sibling: Links to relationships and understanding of other peoples feelings and beliefs. Child Development, 66(5), 1472–1492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by The Maria Grzegorzewska University (grant BSTM 1/16-I).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Special Education, The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland

    Dorota Maria Jankowska & Iwona Omelańczuk

Authors
  1. Dorota Maria Jankowska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Iwona Omelańczuk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland

    Izabela Lebuda

  2. Department of Psychology, Webster University Geneva, Bellevue, Switzerland

    Vlad Petre Glăveanu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Jankowska, D.M., Omelańczuk, I. (2019). Imaginative Play, Socio-emotional Competence, and Sociometric Status in Preschool Children: Common Methodological Problems and New Research Directions. In: Lebuda, I., Glăveanu, V.P. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Social Creativity Research. Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95498-1_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation