The ontogeny and phylogeny of children's object and fantasy play.

We examine the ontogeny and phylogeny of object and fantasy play from a functional perspective. Each form of play is described from an evolutionary perspective in terms of its place in the total time and energy budgets of human and nonhuman juveniles. As part of discussion of functions of play, we examine sex differences, particularly as they relate to life in the environment of evolutionary adaptedness and economic activities of human and nonhuman primates. Object play may relate to foraging activities. Although fantasy play has been viewed as limited to humans, we speculate that certain types of fantasy play may be present in some nonhuman primates. Fantasy play may enable juveniles to see situations from different perspectives. We conclude that fantasy play may have immediate effects and object play may have deferred effects.

Relations between children's playground and classroom behaviour.

In this within-subjects design field experiment children's behaviour in the playground was charted as a function of gender and time in the classroom immediately preceding playtime. Playground behaviour was also related to post-recess classroom behaviour. Twenty-three 9-year-old children were observed for 14 weeks. Classroom behaviour (i.e., task relevant behaviour on standardised seat work immediately before and after playtime) and playground behaviour (i.e., social and non-social exercise and sedentary behaviour) were observed. Time in classroom before playtime was manipulated so that there was a shorter and a longer confinement period. Results indicated that children were less attentive to seat work as a function of time and that longer confinement resulted in more exercise for boys and more social sedentary behaviour for girls. Social behaviour at playtime and post-playtime attention to seat work were significantly related. Results are discussed in terms of Novelty Theory.

Relationships, individual differences, and children's use of literate language.

BACKGROUND: Research in children's oral language and early literacy learning currently stresses the facilitative role of social context. Social context in this literature is typically treated on a macro-level, e.g., mother-child interaction or peer interaction. We present a more differentiated model of peer influences on children's learning one oral language register, 'literate language'. Literate language, which predicts school-based literacy, is defined as talk about language and literacy. AIMS: We suggest that children's temperament and their close relationships, in the form of friendships, play important roles in literate language learning. We present separate models for friends and nonfriends and posit that literate language is learned more effectively between friends because of the emotional tenor of this relationship. When they are with friends children, even those that might be considered 'difficult', disagree, resolve disagreements, then express emotions indicative of social understanding. Reflection upon emotion states, in turn, leads to literate language. SAMPLE: The sample comprised 33 males and 23 females attending American kindergarten classes, with a mean age of 65 months. METHODS: Dyads of same gender and race were observed 12 times across the school year during which time samples of oral language were taken. Measures of children reading and writing were also collected. RESULTS: The data support our model, and the friendship model accounting for more of the variance in literate language (R2 = .69) than did the nonfriend model (R2 = .43). CONCLUSIONS: Children with friends engage in the sort of conceptual conflict and resolutions which maximise use of literate language. This context seems particularly important for 'difficult' children. Future research should continue to examine the interface between individual and group levels variables.

Preference for outdoor play during early adolescence.

The present study examined the extent to which boys' and girls' preference for outdoor, vigorous activity changed as they became socialized to middle school. A sample of 133 boys and girls were studied for one year: those just beginning middle school (sixth graders) and those with one year experience (seventh grade). Measures of children's preference for the playground, the duration of their stay outdoors, and behaviors while outdoors were obtained through direct observational methods. Additionally, teachers' rated children's level of achievement, physical attractiveness, and facility in games. Children also rated each other in terms of dominance status. Results indicated that boys', compared to girls', preference to play outdoors existed only in sixth grade. Factor analyses indicated that three factors described these children: Teachers' Choice, Active Female Oriented, and Outdoor Male Oriented. All three factors varied as children progressed through middle school. Results are discussed in terms of life course developmental theory.

Practitioner review: The role of direct observation in the assessment of young children.

In this review I examine the role of play and assessment in the lives of young children. These two seemingly opposing constructs are first defined. Next. I address a particularly important form of assessment, "high stakes" assessment, and argue that if it must be used, we should use a variety of assessment methods. One such method that I discuss in great detail is the use of direct observations of children's play. Examples of reliable and valid inferences about children's social cognitive functioning made with this family of methods are provided. Two specific observational instruments (one for observing play in the classroom and one for observing play in the playground) are presented. Recommendations for their use by practitioners are made.

Child development and evolutionary psychology.

Evolutionary developmental psychology involves the expression of evolved, epigenetic programs, as described by the developmental systems approach, over the course of ontogeny. There have been different selection pressures on organisms at different times in ontogeny, and some characteristics of infants and children were selected in evolution to serve an adaptive function at that time in their life history rather than to prepare individuals for later adulthood. Examples of such adaptive functions of immaturity are provided from infancy, play, and cognitive development. Most evolved psychological mechanisms are proposed to be domain specific in nature and have been identified for various aspects of children's cognitive and social development, most notably for the acquisition of language and for theory of mind. Differences in the quality and quantity of parental investment affect children's development and influence their subsequent reproductive and childcare strategies. Some sex differences observed in childhood, particularly as expressed during play, are seen as antecedents and preparations for adult sex differences. Because evolved mechanisms were adaptive to ancestral environments, they are not always adaptive for contemporary people, and this mismatch of evolved mechanisms with modern environments is seen in children's maladjustment to some aspects of formal schooling. We argue that an evolutionary perspective can be valuable for developing a better understanding of human ontogeny in contemporary society and that a developmental perspective is important for a better understanding of evolutionary psychology.

Physical activity play: the nature and function of a neglected aspect of playing.

In this review, we consider the nature and possible developmental functions of physical activity play, defined as a playful context combined with a dimension of physical vigor. We distinguish 3 kinds of physical activity play, with consecutive age peaks: rhythmic stereotypies peaking in infancy, exercise play peaking during the preschool years, and rough-and-tumble play peaking in middle childhood. Gender differences (greater prevalence in males) characterize the latter 2 forms. Function is considered in terms of beneficial immediate and deferred consequences in physical, cognitive, and social domains. Whereas most theories assume that children's play has deferred benefits, we suggest that forms of physical activity play serve primarily immediate developmental functions. Rhythmic stereotypies in infancy are hypothesized to improve control of specific motor patterns. Exercise play is hypothesized to function primarily for strength and endurance training; less clear evidence exists for possible benefits for fat reduction and thermoregulation. In addition, there may be cognitive benefits of exercise play that we hypothesize to be largely incidental to its playful or physical nature. Rough-and-tumble play has a distinctive social component; we hypothesize that it serves primarily dominance functions; evidence for benefits to fighting skills or to emotional coding are more equivocal. Further research is indicated, given the potentially important implications for children's education, health, and development.

Parents' teaching strategies with their children: the effects of parental and child status variables.

The intent of the study was to examine the effects of parental (mother and father) and child (gender and communicative status) status variables on the teaching strategies used by parents in a paper-folding task. The linguistic and nonverbal strategies of 120 parent-child groupings were analyzed during paper-folding tasks. Parents' strategies were coded according cognitive demand and directiveness. Results indicated that strategies varied as a function of children's communicative status. Parents were less directive and more demanding of nonhandicapped children compared to handicapped children. Parents' strategies seemed to be determined by children's ability to sustain discourse. Results are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development.

Joint reading between black Head Start children and their mothers.

This study examined the behaviors of black Head Start children and their mothers around a series of experimental joint reading contexts in their homes. There were 2 specific objectives: (1) to examine the effects of text genre (narrative and expository) and text format (familiar and traditional) on mothers' teaching strategies while interacting with their children around reading tasks, and (2) to examine the effectiveness of mothers' teaching strategies in eliciting children's participation in the joint reading tasks. 13 mother-child dyads were videotaped in their homes while interacting around a series of texts in each genre and format. Results indicated that genre, not format, affected mothers' teaching strategies. Further, mothers adjusted their level of teaching to children's level of task competence. Results are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development.

Close relationships, individual differences, and early literacy learning.

We hypothesized that the emotional investment and mutuality characteristic of friendship dyads, compared to nonfriend dyads, would support conflicts and resolutions, as well as reflection on emotions and literate language. We also tested a process model by which temperament influenced interactions leading to the expression of conflicts and resolutions, which, in turn, lead to use of emotional and literate language in friend and nonfriend dyads. Dyads of kindergarten children were observed in either friend or nonfriend dyads across the school year. While rates of conflicts were similar, friends, compared to nonfriends, more frequently resolved conflicts and generated more emotional and literate language. Our process model of literate language was also supported. Directions for future research are discussed.