Pretend play reflects cognitive, representational and affective expression abilities in children. Cross-cultural studies stress the importance of culture-specific practices involved in shaping the context for play. Differences in the cultural environment and the parental care-giving system could influence pretend play activities. There is a need for cross-cultural comparisons of play that use the same standardized measure of play. The current study was a cross-cultural comparison of two samples of US and Italian children aged six to eight years old using the Affect in Play Scale (APS; Russ, 1993; 2004). As hypothesized, Italian children had significantly more types of affect in play than US children, showing a medium effect size, and more affect expression. US children had more imagination in play, although with a small effect size. Implications of these findings are discussed.
A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Pretend Play in U.S. and Italian Children.
DELVECCHIO, ELISA;MAZZESCHI, Claudia;
2013
Abstract
Pretend play reflects cognitive, representational and affective expression abilities in children. Cross-cultural studies stress the importance of culture-specific practices involved in shaping the context for play. Differences in the cultural environment and the parental care-giving system could influence pretend play activities. There is a need for cross-cultural comparisons of play that use the same standardized measure of play. The current study was a cross-cultural comparison of two samples of US and Italian children aged six to eight years old using the Affect in Play Scale (APS; Russ, 1993; 2004). As hypothesized, Italian children had significantly more types of affect in play than US children, showing a medium effect size, and more affect expression. US children had more imagination in play, although with a small effect size. Implications of these findings are discussed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
