Body or mind: children's categorizing of pretense

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Social Cognition
• Psychology

Background:

• Pretend play is a key area in early social cognition research.
• Previous studies suggest young children may not grasp pretend play as a mental representation.
• Understanding children's conceptualization of pretending is crucial for developmental psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if children perceive pretending as a mental state.
• To determine if children group pretending with mental states or physical processes.
• To explore developmental changes in understanding the cognitive components of pretend play.

Main Methods:

• Five experiments were conducted to assess children's judgments about pretend play.
• Participants were asked to categorize pretend play alongside mental states or physical processes.
• Children's understanding of the planning and execution phases of pretending was examined.

Main Results:

• Most children younger than six years old conceptualize pretending as a physical process.
• A significant portion of children, even up to age eight, do not associate the execution of pretend play with mental processes.
• The planning phase of pretend play was more likely to be identified as involving the mind.

Conclusions:

• Young children's understanding of pretend play is predominantly physical rather than mental.
• Developmental understanding of pretend play as a cognitive process, particularly its execution, emerges later in childhood.
• Further research is needed to fully elucidate the cognitive underpinnings of pretend play in children.