Toy play, play tempo, and reaction to frustration in infants.

ABSTRACT

Measures of toy play including duration and tempo of play were obtained for a combined sample of 7 male and 5 female infants 22 to 26 mo. of age. Additional measures of reaction to frustration were obtained during a second session where toys were placed out of reach of the subjects. Measures of frustration included crying, squirm/escape attempts, and non-crying vocalizations. Several correlations between toy play and reaction to frustration were found and were indicative of a general relationship between response persistence during play and attempts to escape from the frustrating situation.