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PubMed1996

Solitary and collaborative pretense play in early childhood: sources of individual variation in the development of representational competence.

This study evaluates sources of individual variation in child pretense play as an expression of emerging mental representation. Family sociodemographic characteristics, maternal personological characteristics, and maternal affective and cognitive play behaviors, as well as children's gender, language competence, and play, were examined simultaneously. Naturalistic child solitary play and child collaborative play with mother were videorecorded in 141 20-month-olds. Child solitary play, child-initiated and mother-initiated collaborative play with mother, and maternal demonstrations and solicitations of play were then coded into nonsymbolic and symbolic acts. Zero-order relations obtained between child play and, respectively, child gender and language, family SES, and maternal verbal intelligence, personality, physical affection, and play demonstrations and solicitations. Structural equation modeling supported the following unique predictive relations: Child language and mothers' symbolic play positively influenced child collaborative play, and child gender and mothers' verbal intelligence predicted child solitary play. Child gender and mothers' verbal intelligence and physical affection influenced mothers' play and so influenced child collaborative play indirectly. The cognitive advantages of child play and maternal influences on child play are placed in an adaptive parenting framework.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1997

Dramatic play: a format for 'literate' language?

BACKGROUND: Research literature discussing the possibility of a relationship between dramatic play and literacy development in school beginners has evoked interest in the context of the formalisation of early years curriculum, particularly relationships between oral syntactic competence in preschool children and later reading ability. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to investigate possible differences in syntax between sociodramatic play and other play activities in small play groups. It was predicted that the language in sociodramatic play would be more 'literate', i.e., more decontextualised, explicit and linguistically elaborated. The hypothesis tested was that sociodramatic play elicits more advanced syntactic language in children. SAMPLES: Six children (six-year-olds) in groups of three girls and three boys were observed in 11 free play episodes (five sociodramatic play episodes and six other group play episodes). Approximately 100 utterances from each child in each play category were analysed. The children had normal intelligence and language ability, and had a middle class background. METHODS: The play groups were observed during indoor free play in a playroom equipped for family play and with different toys. No instructions were given. The observations were video- and audiotaped and the children's utterances transcribed and analysed syntactically, i.e., utterance types (complexity and completeness), sentence adverbials and expansions. Chi-square was used to test for statistically significant differences in children's use of syntax. RESULTS: The children's language turned out to be significantly more advanced and 'literate' with more syntactically complete and complicated utterances, use of explicit references and elaborated nominal groups in sociodramatic play than in any other play activity. CONCLUSIONS: The demands of conveying meaning to peers in dramatic play contexts seem to provide children with opportunities to practise 'literate' language, language that is similar to what is demanded when writing for an absent audience.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1999

The developmental onset of a rudimentary form of play fighting in C57 mice.

Play fighting in its most elaborate form involves nonagonistic wrestling between pairmates, where one partner grabs, holds, bites, or otherwise contacts the other. Such play occurs in the absence of the functional consequences associated with serious fighting (e.g., resource acquisition or protection). Typically, the biting, nosing, or grooming contact during play fighting is directed at specific body targets. House mice have been classified as a species that lacks such play, even though play fighting is present in closely related species such as the rat. In this study, six litters of C57 mice were observed daily from the week before weaning until the week after weaning (15-30 days postnatally). Thirty-min videotaped records were collected daily for each litter. Consistent with other studies, over 85% of all play involved locomotor play, and most of the social play involved noncontact locomotion (86%). However, a rudimentary pattern of the "attack and defense" typical of play fighting was found to occur, albeit at a low frequency (2% of all play). Most playful attacks involved snout contact with the partner's rump, but evidence is provided that suggests that this rump contact may be transitory, with the nape area being the primary target for play. Most of the playful attacks elicited playful defense (97%), which in all cases involved the defender evading such contact by leaping or running away, or by dodging laterally away from the attacker. Therefore, there appears to be directed playful attacks in this species, with defense limited to evasion. Defensive tactics leading to wrestling were never observed. That is, play fighting in mice involves only a small subset of what other species, such as rats, exhibit. Nonetheless, the basic components of attack and defense are present in mice.

Agonistic Behavior↗
PubMed1975

Play: early and eternal.

A systematic 12-week investigation of development of play behavior was conducted with eight socially reared rhesus monkey infants. A new, basic and primary play form termed self-motion play or peragration was identified and examined. This behavior follows a human model which includes a wide range of pleasurable activities involving motion of the body through space, e.g., rocking, swinging, running, leaping, and water or snow skiing. It can be argued that self-motion play is the initial primate play form and because of its persistence constitutes a reinforcing agent for maintaining many complex patterns and even pastimes. Monkey self-motion play in the present study was divided into five separate patterns in order to compare the relative importance of social and individual peragration play, the role of apparatus and the overall developmental relationships between the different individual and social self-motion play patterns. The data showed that from 90 to 180 days of age self-motion play was independent of other forms of play, that individual self-motion play appeared earlier and with significantly greater increases in frequency than did social self-motion play, and that apparatus was a necessary component for significant increases in social self-motion play. Other findings were that self-motion play existed independent of locomotion and, though initiated by exploration, was separate from it. Therapeutic implications of self-motion play were discussed.

Aging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The test-retest reliability of the child-initiated pretend play assessment.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to establish the test-retest reliability of the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment (ChIPPA) (Stagnitti, 2002a; Stagnitti, Unsworth, & Rodger, 2000). METHOD: The first author rated 38 preschool children ages 4 and 5 years (4 with developmental delay and 34 typically developing) on the ChIPPA. The ChIPPA employs conventional play materials and unstructured play materials to assess three qualities of a child's play ability: elaborateness of play action, ability to substitute objects during play, and the child's need to imitate the modelled actions of the examiner. The ChIPPA was administered twice, at a 2-week interval, to each participant. RESULTS: Test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) (Type 2,1) calculated for each of the three elaborate play measures ranged from .73 to .84. A test-retest ICC of .56 was obtained for object substitution with unstructured play materials. The test-retest ICC obtained for the combined score for unstructured and conventional play materials was .57. Percentage agreement figures ranging from 63.2% to 84.2% were obtained on test-retest of the object substitution with conventional toys and imitated actions measures. There was no significant difference between test and retest scores for these measures based on a Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed-Ranks Test (Wilcoxon Sign Test). CONCLUSION: Elaborate play scores, object substitution with conventional toys score, and imitation scores on the ChIPPA showed stability over time. Object substitution scores using unstructured materials were the least stable play measures and appeared to be related to the child's play themes. Since play is the primary occupation of children, it is essential that therapists have a reliable measure of play behavior. The test-retest reliability results from the ChIPPA provide evidence that this assessment produces a stable measure of play behavior that can then guide therapists when planning intervention strategies for children.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2003

The relative playfulness of juvenile Lewis and Fischer-344 rats.

The relative playfulness of inbred Lewis and Fischer-344 rats was characterized. Fischer rats were consistently less playful than Lewis rats, with rats of this strain less likely to initiate playful interactions with either responsive or unresponsive partners and also less likely to respond playfully when playful solicitations were directed to them. While less playful, Fischer rats were more socially inquisitive than Lewis rats when tested with an unresponsive partner, suggesting that Fischer rats are less likely to escalate a social encounter into a playful one. Strain differences in playful responsiveness were present with or without prior social isolation, suggesting that this aspect of play represents a relatively stable trait difference. Unlike play responsiveness, strain differences in play solicitation were only apparent after a period of social isolation. Low levels of play were still present in Fischer rats that had been reared by Lewis dams, suggesting a genetic source for the altered play in rats of this strain. Further studies of play behavior in Lewis and Fischer rats could illuminate relevant neural involvement in rough-and-tumble play and also help understand the genetic bases for this complex social behavior.

Aging↗
PubMed2002

Complexities in ETS-domain transcription factor function and regulation: lessons from the TCF (ternary complex factor) subfamily. The Colworth Medal Lecture.

The ETS-domain transcription factor family can be divided into a series of subfamilies. Elk-1 represents the founding member of the ternary complex factor (TCF) subfamily. By focusing on the TCF subfamily, we can demonstrate the complexities that exist in the function and regulation of ETS-domain transcription factors. This article focuses on Elk-1 in detail and summarizes the functions of other TCFs. The key themes covered include the domain structure of the TCFs, the mechanisms of complex formation with serum response factor, regulation of TCFs by mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, and transcriptional regulatory properties of the TCFs. Finally, the emerging role of the TCFs in vivo is discussed. A picture is developing indicating that, while these proteins exhibit significant sequence and functional conservation, key differences in their structure and regulation are being identified which may relate to unique functions of these proteins in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

The role of play in pediatric occupational therapy.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the roles that play occupies within current occupational therapy practice with preschoolers. METHOD: Two hundred twenty-four pediatric occupational therapists completed mail questionnaires designed to ascertain how they use play in their practice, their knowledge and use of play assessments, and potential constraints on their use of play. RESULTS: Although respondents indicated that play was important in motivating children and frequently used play as a treatment modality or reinforcer, they less frequently assessed play behaviors or wrote treatment goals and objectives related to play. Differences were found between school-based and non-school-based respondents regarding the discipline or model that addresses play in the work setting, the use of play assessments, and constraints that limit the use of play in the work setting. CONCLUSION: The results suggest a need for increasing the emphasis on play in entry-level curricula and continuing education, improving clinician access to valid and reliable play assessments, and completing studies designed to examine the use and efficacy of play in occupational therapy intervention.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1978

A study of the play behavior of retarded children.

Piaget, Almy and Peller have pointed to the necessity of play for cognitive development. Earlier, Lehman and Witty, Boyton and Ford, Horne and Philleo. Tilton, Ottinger and Weiner conducted studies on play in cognitively disturbed children. Hetzer and Inhelder show that the retarded child annot utilize his play area because of poor imagination and lack of expressive skills. Many play activities have a perseverating character. They cannot make sufficient use of the possibilities inherent in the toys presented to them. Uncontrolled drives inhibit creative and constructive play. Often, a plan d'attaque for play is lacking. Following on the heels of earlier studies, systematic play observations of 38 retarded children were made using ten observation categories. In Table II the results are shown of the way in which the child uses a toy. The play behavior of the retarded child is predominated by a great need to explore, experiment and move. He hardly has a chance to use toys in a creative way resulting in a play endproduct. The choice of toys is given in Table III. Boys had a particular interest in vehicles and environmental material, girls in dolls. According to expectation, the level of play behavior (Table IV) and the scores on an intelligence test (HAWIK) appeared to positively correlate with each other. This was also true for the correlations between the subtest scores and play behavior, with the exception of similarities and block design. Also, the variation in the exhibited play behavior correlated positively with the measured IQ's. In view of the correlations found, there are indications that imitation play is important for emotional and social behavior. Older study results, which showed a connection between an identification score and imitation play seem to be confirmed in retarded children, too. For the practical situation in child-rearing and education, the study results point to the necessity of bringing the retarded child into contact with as many different toys as possible.

Child↗
PubMed1998

The relative cost of children's physical play.

There has been a long-standing debate regarding the functions of play during childhood. An important, but neglected, first step in this debate entails documenting the costs associated with play. In this study we analysed energetic costs (expressed in terms of caloric expenditure) associated with physical play in four field experiments of play in primary school children. Experiment 1 established the concurrent validity of an observational check list to estimate caloric expenditure of children's physical play. Experiment 2 compared caloric expenditure of the play (defined as all behaviour exhibited during play time) for two age groups of children during playtime outdoors and during indoor sedentary activity; caloric expenditure of outdoor activity was greater and was significantly correlated with ambient temperature. In experiment 3, children were observed during indoor play to control for the influence of ambient temperature. Outdoor physical play was more energetically costly than indoor physical play. In experiment 4, children's behaviour was observed outdoors and caloric expenditure for play, games and other activities was compared. Physical play was more costly than other forms of behaviour and games. Estimates of total energetic costs of play ranged from 6 to 15%. Results are discussed in terms of the relatively low caloric costs of play. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Assessing the instrumentalist interface: modifications, ergonomics and maintenance of play.

Awareness of the tasks required to play a particular instrument requires observation of technique and understanding of the dynamic and static loads placed on the musculoskeletal system to play a particular instrument. Anatomic differences, variation in hand size, gender, instrument choice, and maintainance of the instrument all may play a role in the development of playing-related complaints. Simply observing particular instruments, we can see a variety of positions that are required to play the instrument. Important to the discussion of overuse syndromes, we must evaluate the duration of practice sessions and warm-up and cool down periods, which may help minimize playing-related problems. Avoid absolute rest and opt for relative rest for playing-related problems. Immobilization for more than 3 to 4 weeks may lead to greater risk of injury when playing is resumed. Return to play schedules should start with simple, soft music, doubling minutes of playing every few days, dropping back if pain develops. Practical advice may include building up practice times gradually with 5- to 10-minute intervals in 60- to 90-minutes sessions. This recommendation is supported by the findings of Lutz and colleagues who showed decreased blood flow to the forearm after repetitive hand and wrist activities for 90 minutes. This decrease in blood flow normalized after 5 to 10 minutes of stretching exercises. Players with hypermobility should consider limiting practice sessions to 45 minutes allowing for rest breaks of 10 to 15 minutes. Fry suggested a shift in thinking of ergonomics as sa reactive strategy to one in which we anticipate and prevent problems before they become insidious or severe enough to limit the ability of the instrumentalist to play. Joint protection is important in all musicians, and although youth can be forgiving for many, we must remind our patients about joint protection as it applies to activities of daily living. Instrumentalists rely on their hands and finger joints to allow them to perform. Basic principles that apply to patients with all types of arthritis also apply to our patients when activities that worsen symptoms or place unnecessary stress on joints are identified. Using adaptive equipment to open jars is an obvious example. Overall, engaging the patient to observe routine behaviors may lead to the identification of modifiable activities, which might be aggravating or manifesting as a playing-related discomfort. Although some injury patterns can be associated with particular instruments, remember that your guitar-playing patient may be taking drum lessons on the side, Which could result in lateral epicondylitis that bothers him when he plays the guitar.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed2005

Influence of playing position on the site, nature, and cause of rugby league injuries.

This study investigated the influence of playing position on the site, nature, and cause of injuries in rugby league. The incidence, site, nature, and cause of playing injuries was prospectively studied in 156 rugby league players over 2 seasons. An injury was defined as any pain or disability suffered by a player during a match that resulted in the player missing a subsequent match. The hooker (101 per 1,000 playing hours) and prop (92 per 1,000 playing hours) positions had the highest incidence of injury. Injuries sustained by the fullback (32 per 1,000 playing hours) and halfback (44 per 1,000 playing hours) positions were less common. Compared with other individual playing positions, props had a significantly higher incidence of overexertion injuries (22 per 1,000 playing hours), thigh and calf injuries (47 per 1,000 playing hours), and hematomas (19 per 1,000 playing hours), whereas the five-eighth position (31 per 1,000 playing hours) and the hookers and halves positional group (17 per 1,000 playing hours) had a significantly higher incidence of falling and stumbling injuries. These results demonstrate that the hooker and prop positions have higher injury rates than other rugby league positions. Furthermore, the site, type, and cause of injuries are different among individual playing positions and playing groups. These findings suggest that individual position training for injury prevention is warranted in rugby league.

Athletic Injuries↗
PubMed2006

Social play in bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Implications for natural social systems and interindividual relationships.

This study compares adult play behavior in the two Pan species in order to test the effects of phylogenetic closeness and the nature of social systems on play distribution. The social play (both with fertile and immature subjects) performed by adults did not differ between the two species. In contrast, in bonobos, play levels among fertile subjects were higher than in chimpanzees. Findings regarding levels of undecided conflicts (more frequent in bonobos) and formal submission displays (lacking in bonobos) confirm, in the two colonies under study, that bonobos exhibit "egalitarianism" more than chimpanzees. Some authors emphasized the importance of play-fighting for social assessment when relationships among individuals are not codified and structured according to rank-rules. Indeed, adult bonobos played more roughly than chimpanzees. Moreover, adult bonobos displayed the full play-face at a high frequency especially during rough play sessions, whereas in chimpanzees, the frequency of play signals was not affected by roughness of play. The frequency of social play among bonobo females was higher than in any other sex combinations, whereas no difference was found for chimpanzees. As a matter of fact, social play can be viewed as a balance between cooperation and competition. Among bonobo females, characterized by social competence and affiliation, social play might enhance their behavioral flexibility and increase their socially symmetrical relationships which, after all, are the basis for their egalitarian society.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1995

Effects of morphine on different aspects of social play in juvenile rats.

To clarify the influence of opioids on social play, the effects of morphine on playful and non-playful social behavior in juvenile rats was investigated under different conditions. Environmental variables employed were different (dim and intense) levels of illumination during testing, familiarity to the test cage, and different periods of social isolation prior to testing. Under dim light conditions, morphine markedly increased playful social behavior, such as pinning, boxing/wrestling and following/chasing, whereas non-playful social behavior such as social exploration and contact behavior was hardly affected. This effect of morphine was independent of duration of previous isolation and dose-dependent, with a maximal effect at 1.0 mg/kg. The mechanism of this effect is interpreted as an action on the rewarding aspects of play. A dose of 0.1 mg/kg of morphine abolished the initial suppression of play induced by unfamiliarity to the test cage, without influencing total levels of play. This may be an effect of morphine on the integration of sensory stimuli. Under intense light conditions, whereas playful behavior was completely suppressed, morphine itself hardly affected such behavior, but decreased some aspects of non-playful social behavior. These results suggest that in juvenile rats playful and non-playful forms of social behavior are differentially regulated. In addition, opioid systems may be involved at different levels in the regulation of social play.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The influence of virtual reality on playfulness in children with cerebral palsy: a pilot study.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the effects of virtual play intervention on the level of playfulness of children with cerebral palsy. Thirteen children aged 8-13 years comprised the study group. Children attended eight one-hour virtual reality play sessions in which they were immersed and interacted with virtual reality. The Test of Playfulness (TOP) was used as the measure to assess playfulness. Participants were videotaped while they played during 12 different environments over the course of their intervention time. Three randomly selected virtual reality play sessions were chosen to score three different virtual reality environments within each session yielding a total of nine trials (environments) for each participant. The types of virtual environments varied across participants. Overall, the different virtual reality play environments produced varying levels of playfulness according to the TOP's four different subscale scores. Motivation ranged from 1.50 to 2.25, internal control ranged from 1.00 to 1.88, suspension of reality ranged from 0 to 0.26, and framing ranged from 1.33 to 1.78. The three environments producing the highest playfulness ratings were called Paint, Trip and Island Sounds. These environments allowed creativity, persistence with the task, pleasure, and a certain degree of control. Two environments did not appear to foster playfulness. A possible reason was that these environments were too unpredictable and frustrating for participants. These results will be useful for creating new virtual reality software applications that will encourage playfulness in children with disabilities.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed2000

A further characterization of alpha-2 adrenoceptor involvement in the rough-and-tumble play of juvenile rats.

In order to further understand the extent to which alpha-2 adrenoceptors are involved in play behavior, a more detailed behavioral assessment was made of the effects of the alpha-2 agonist clonidine and the alpha-2 antagonist RX821002 on the rough-and-tumble play of juvenile rats. Clonidine reduced overall levels of playfulness, as indicated by fewer attacks directed to the nape, a lower probability of rotating completely to supine in response to nape attacks and fewer pins. In contrast, RX821002 increased playfulness, as indicated by more attacks directed to the nape, a higher probability of rotating completely to supine in response to nape attacks and more pins. Testing rats in an unfamiliar environment did not affect the ability of RX821002 to increase play. Abruptly turning on a bright light during an ongoing play session also did not affect the ability of RX821002 to increase play or the ability of clonidine to reduce play. These data suggest that alpha-2 noradrenergic compounds do not affect play by altering levels of distractibility. However, the extent to which RX821002 and clonidine influenced overall activity during a play bout was compromised by turning on a bright light. While this pattern of results is consistent with a presynaptic site of action for alpha-2 involvement in modulating overall activity during a play bout, the same cannot be concluded about any putative explanatory mechanism for alpha-2 involvement in play behavior

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed2002

Morphine administration selectively facilitates social play in common marmosets.

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) form extended families, and several cohorts of young may reside together. Play is shown extensively among the offspring. We hypothesized that opiate activity modulates social play, and predicted that administration of morphine (0.5 mg/kg) would facilitate social play, whereas pretreatment with naloxone (0.5 mg/kg) would block morphine's effects. Morphine administration was associated with significantly increased social play, and the effect of morphine was attributable to the focal subject, since play initiated by others was unaffected by treatment. Non-social categories of play, such as object manipulation and locomotor play, and affiliative behaviors, such as time spent huddled, were unaffected by treatment. Twittering and play face, behaviors used by young during play, also increased after morphine administration. Pretreatment with naloxone blocked morphine's effects. Total activity was significantly increased by morphine administration. We conclude that social play is specifically facilitated by opiate activation, whereas other categories of play behavior and social behavior were unaffected by morphine. Thus, social play represents a distinct category of social behavior in juvenile common marmosets with regulatory processes that are unique from other types of social behavior.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1995

Teaching symbolic play skills to children with autism using pivotal response training.

Used Pivotal Response Training (PRT) to teach 7 children with autism to engage in symbolic play behaviors. Symbolic play, complexity of play behavior, and creativity of play were assessed. In addition, generalization measures were obtained across settings, toys, and play partners. Interaction with the play partners and comparison with typical controls were also examined. Results indicated that children with autism rarely exhibited symbolic play before training or after a control condition. After specific symbolic play training using PRT, all of the children learned to perform complex and creative symbolic play actions at levels similar to that of language-matched typical controls. In most cases the children generalized their play to new toys, environments, and play partners and continued to engage in symbolic play behavior after a 3-month follow-up period. In addition, interaction skills improved after training. Treatment implications for these findings are discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗