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Despite the emerging literature supporting the central role of pretend play for children’s cognitive, affective and social development, there is a paucity of standardized and validated measures devoted to assess it, especially for preschoolers. In addition, most of the existing tools failed in their attempt to assess the interplay among the different developmental domains which are involved in playing activities. The Affect in Play Scale-Preschool version is a semi-structured measure to assess cognitive and affective pretend play processes in children aged 4-5 using a 5-min standardized play task. This study was aimed to evaluate the construct and external validity of the scale in a sample of Italian preschoolers. A multi-group factor analysis confirmed the adequacy of the two-factor model with cognitive and affective factor for both 4- and 5-year-old children. No differences were found between boys and girls whereas older children reported higher play abilities. Correlations between pretend play, divergent thinking, teacher’s measures of temperament and prosocial behavior were carried out. Results supported the use of APS-P as a valid tool for assessing the interplay of cognitive and affective abilities in Italian children.

The goal of this study was to develop and validate an interview assessment of preference for solitary activities for use with young children. We also tested the postulation that negative peer experiences would heighten preference for solitude, particularly among young shy children. Participants were N = 193 children (87 boys, 106 girls; Mage = 65.76 mos, SD = 12.68) attending preschools and elementary schools (kindergarten, grade 1) located in south‐eastern Ontario, Canada. Self‐reported preference for solitude was measured with the newly developed Preference for Solitary Play Interview (PSPI). Children also reported their perceived peer acceptance. Mothers provided ratings of children’s social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability) and social engagement outside of school, and teachers assessed children’s socio‐emotional functioning at school. Among the results, the newly developed PSPI displayed good psychometric properties and evidence of construct/convergent validity. For example, preference for solitary play was positively related to indices of social withdrawal, and negatively associated with social engagement, prosocial behaviour, and perceived peer acceptance. In addition, peer exclusion was found to exacerbate the association between shyness and preference for solitary play. Results are discussed in terms of the assessment and implications of preference for solitude in early childhood. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). (journal abstract)

This paper reports an analysis of children’s cognitive strategies on an inductive reasoning task, by means of a new methodological approach. A sample of 72 children aged 6, 8 and 10 were presented with three different versions of a multidimensional discrimination learning task, which was presented in such a way as to ‘optimise’ their performance. Their responses were analysed in terms of 10 Strategy Components, scores on which were analysed by means of cluster analysis. Overall, the children performed at more sophisticated levels than previously found. Five Strategy Clusters representing distinct patterns of strategic behaviour were revealed. A developmental sequence was established between these patterns of strategic behaviour and, significantly, two alternative developmental routes relating to strategic style. While the results support a complex model of strategy construction, as revealed by recent research, the distinct nature of the Strategy Clusters points to a discontinuous model of strategy development. This evidence of children’s differing abilities to construct and select appropriate strategies in relation to a novel task strongly supports the educational imperative of encouraging children’s early use and awareness of cognitive strategies.

Cultures of Creativity, nurturing creative mindsets from LEGO Foundation on Vimeo.

Creativity is one of the most important competencies of the 21st Century. Yet, the puzzling question is how to nurture it? Children are creative from the day they are born and the film describes how to support creativity across cultures. The content is based on the report, Cultures of Creativity, published by the LEGO Foundation, 2013. Authors: David Gauntlett and Bo Stjerne Thomsen and 20 leading international experts on play, learning and creativity. Read more on LEGOFoundation.com

LEGO® Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning announced.

Part of the PEDAL Seminar series this video shows the recording of the recent seminar hosted by PEDAL and the Psychology & Education research group at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Introduced by PEDAL acting Director Dr David Whitebread from the Faculty of Education and presented by Dr Megan McClelland, Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children & Families, Oregon State University.

National Policy Frameworks – The Scottish Government Play Strategy for Scotland Click on the link below to read Play Scotland’s summary.

When asked what is important to them, children tell us that playing outside and being with their friends is one of the most important aspects of their lives. Play Wales is advocating a low cost approach to making the most of children’s free time – give them time to play. We have pulled together our top tips for making time for children to play.

Direct observation of peer relating is potentially a sensitive and ecologically valid measure of child social functioning, but there has been a lack of standardised methods. The Manchester Inventory for Playground Observation (MIPO) was developed as a practical yet rigorous assessment of this kind for 5–11 year olds. We report on the initial reliability and validity of the MIPO and its ability to distinguish social impairments within different psychopathologies. We observed 144 clinically referred children aged 5;00–11;11 (mean 8.8) years with Externalising (n=44), Internalising (n=19), Autism Spectrum Disorders (n=39) or Specific Language Impairment (n=42), and 44 class-controls, in naturalistic playground interaction. Observers, blind to clinical diagnosis, completed the MIPO and the teacher checklist from the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). MIPO items showed high internal consistency (alpha=.924; all ‘alpha if item deleted’ values>.91), inter-observer reliability (mean κw=.77) and test–retest stability (over 2 weeks; mean κw=.58). MIPO totals showed convergence with SSRS (n=68, rs=.78, p<.01) and excellent discrimination between case and control (sensitivity=0.75 and specificity=0.88, AUC=.897). Externalising, Autistic Spectrum and Language Impaired groups showed distinct profiles of MIPO impairment consistent with theory:Internalising disorders less so. 65.3% of clinical cases were classified accurately for primary diagnosis. The MIPO shows reliability and validity as a measure of children's social functioning relevant in developmental research and as a clinical tool to aid differential diagnosis and intervention planning.

There is a growing theoretical and practical interest in the topic of metacognition; how we monitor and control our mental processes. Applied Metacognition provides a coherent and up-to-date overview of the relation between theories in metacognition and their application in real-world situations. As well as a theoretical overview, there are substantive chapters covering metacognition in three areas of application: metacognition in education, metacognition in everyday life memory and metacognition in different populations. The book has contributions from many of the leading researchers in metacognition from around the world.