The influence of pretend ‘technologies’ on children’s cognitive development in symbolic play

ABSTRACT

This research seeks to understand developmental processes of cognition, especially as these processes become observable in children’s role-play. In seeking to understand cognitive development in young children, we focus on how children incorporate pretend ‘technologies’ in role-play, such as non-operational cell phones, through pretend conversations and actions in the play episode. In observations with two preschool classes of four-year-old children, role-play that involved pretend ‘technologies’ was analyzed as to its effect on children’s ability to think abstractly and to form mental representations. This qualitative study collected observations and documentation of children’s actions and words as they played, coded and analyzed through constant comparison. Two findings were identified indicating that role-play using pretend ‘technologies’ promotes expansion of children’s abstract thought; and role-play with pretend ‘technologies’ enhances children’s perceptions and enactments of dual representation. With further examination, we distilled three ways that abstract thought and dual representation occurred during role-play with pretend ‘technologies’: through children’s symbolic understanding and actions, higher mental functions when interacting with pretend ‘technologies’, and children’s on-and-off line cognitive functions when operating pretend ‘technologies’. This study suggests that there are many benefits of children engaging in pretend play and that incorporating technology in the play scenario amplifies cognitive benefits.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood
• symbolic development
• pretend ‘technologies’ and play
• higher mental functions
• abstract thought
• dual representation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This term is used here to denote embodied cognition that assumes there is (emergent) mediation between the young child and the environment through mental representation, as well as direct contact between the child and the environment (Raab & Araújo, 2019). One of the points argued here is that mental representation is a cognitive ability that develops over time with exposure to others and direct contact with/in the environment.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Annabelle Black Delfin

Annabelle Black Delfin has a PhD in early childhood education and development. She is an adjunct professor at Western New Mexico University and New Mexico State University. She is also an Education Consultant with the University of New Mexico, Center for Development and Disability. Her research interests include cognitive development, symbolic representation, gender & identity, and autism.

Wenjie Wang

Wenjie Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Early Childhood Program, College of Education at Western New Mexico University. She has a PhD in Bilingual Education with an emphasis in early childhood education. Dr Wang also has a master’s degree in early childhood education. Dr Wang's research interests include early childhood education and development, bilingual education and teacher preparation.