Does Batman^™ affect EF because he is benevolent or skilful? The effect of different pretend roles on pre-schoolers’ executive functions

ABSTRACT

Previous research has indicated that young children’s executive functions (EFs) can be bolstered through role-play [e.g. the ‘Batman^™ effect’; White et al.]. However, what is not clear is whether it is the role-playing of another’s perspective, or something about the role played, which is responsible for the Batman^™ effect. The current experiment investigated the effects of role-play of different roles (protagonist, villain, and sage) with different traits (benevolence, malevolence, skill) on 80 five- to six-year-old children’s EF performance. Results indicated significantly improved cold – but not hot – EF scores for the Sage and Control groups. Consistent with Vygotsky’s theory that children transfer imagined content into real-world applications, this study provides preliminary evidence that pretending to be someone with EF skills can bolster young children’s cold EF performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Executive functions
• inhibition
• cognitive flexibility
• motor persistence
• pretend play
• imaginary play

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research [grant number 18-013-01057].

Notes on contributors

Alexander Nikolaevich Veraksa

Alexander Nikolaevich Veraksa - Doctor of Psychology, PhD in Psychology, Professor, Head of Department of Pedagogical Psychology and Education, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vice-President of the Russian Psychological Society, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Education (Russia).

Margarita Nikolaevna Gavrilova

Margarita Nikolaevna Gavrilova - PhD Student, Department of Pedagogical Psychology and Education, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia).

Daria Аlexeevna Bukhalenkova

Daria Аlexeevna Bukhalenkova - PhD in Psychology, Researcher of Department of Pedagogical Psychology and Education, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia).

Olga Almazova

Olga Almazova - PhD in Psychology, Associate Professor of Department of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia).

Nickolay Evgenievich Veraksa

Nickolay Evgenievich Veraksa - PhD in Psychology, Professor of Department of Pedagogical Psychology and Education, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leading Researcher, Institute of Childhood, Family and Childrearing, Russian Academy of Education; Leading Research Fellow, Moscow City University (Russia), Dr. H.C., Gothenburg University.

Yeshe Colliver

Yeshe Colliver - PhD in Psychology, Lecturer at the Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University (Australia).