The power of pretend: unveiling the role of play complexity in self-regulation among polish preschool children
Does playing pretend in a sophisticated, organized way help preschoolers get better at controlling themselves — and if so, which parts of pretend play matter most?
College of Health researcher(s)
Highlights
- Structured pretend play predicts behavioral self-regulation in preschoolers.
- Organization in pretend play uniquely relates to children’s regulatory skills.
- No significant links were found between play and emotional self-regulation.
- Study adds cultural insight from a Polish educational context.
Abstract
Pretend play is crucial for preschool children’s cognitive and social development and has potential links to self-regulation. While prior research suggests associations between pretend play complexity and self-regulation, the relations between specific dimensions of pretend play and specific dimensions of self-regulation remain underexplored. This study examines associations between pretend play dimensions and behavioral and emotional self-regulation, expecting cognitive dimensions (organization, elaboration, imagination) to relate positively to behavioral regulation and the social interaction dimension to emotional regulation.
Participants included 93 children (50.5% girls, Mage = 60.77 months, SD = 13.34) in Krakow, Poland. Pretend play was assessed using indicators of complexity and social relationships using observational assessments. Children’s behavioral self-regulation and emotion regulation was evaluated through direct assessments. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the organization aspect of pretend play (β = .38, p = .024) and age (β = 0.55, p < .001) were significant predictors of behavioral self-regulation. No significant predictors emerged for emotional self-regulation, and the explained variance was minimal (R2 = .07, p = .352).
Structured pretend play may support behavioral self-regulation in preschoolers, while its role in emotional self-regulation remains unclear. Further research should explore additional play characteristics and contextual factors influencing self-regulation.