Effectiveness of pretend play as a simulated experience: Young children can acquire general knowledge in pretend play

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K04087
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Educational psychology
• Research Institution: Japan Women's College of Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Nakamichi Naoko 日本女子体育大学, 体育学部, 准教授 (10389926)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 幼児 / ふり遊び / 学び

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In pretend play, people sometimes intentionally distort reality. Therefore, it is considered that children do not acquire new knowledge through pretense, which often causes misconceptions. However, recent studies (e.g., Hopkins, Dore, & Lillard, 2015; Sutherland & Friedman, 2012, 2013) showed that children can learn new information in pretend play with adults. The present study showed that children can learn the perceptual characteristics of novel foods or tools through pretense.

Free Research Field

発達心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来，ふり遊びは，幼児が既に知っていることや体験したことを再現する場であり，幼児がふり遊びの中で新しい知識を獲得することはない，と考えられてきた．本研究では，大人とのふり遊びを通して，幼児が未知の事物の色や形などの知覚的特徴を学習できることを明らかにした．このように本研究は，幼児期のふり遊びは知識を再現する場であるだけでなく，新しい知識を獲得する場であることを実証した点で意義がある．