Pretend Play in Childhood
Author: Sandra Walker Russ
Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn
Published: 2013-10-01
Total Pages: 241
ISBN-13: 9781433815614
DOWNLOAD EBOOKConverging evidence suggests that pretend play in childhood has an important role in providing a foundation for adult creativity. In this book, Russ reviews the theory and research on pretend play and creativity, including cognitive and affective processes involved in play and creativity, possible evolutionary purposes of play, and its cultural variations. She highlights the importance of pretend play in helping children to access emotional memories and fantasies and explains how creative processes in play can be measured using the Affect in Play Scale. Russ describes play interventions designed to encourage creativity in children, using transcripts of sessions from a pilot intervention. Brief case studies of creative adult scientists and artists are also presented, illustrating similarities in play processes and creative processes in adulthood. Given that creativity drives accomplishment in science, engineering, and the arts, the link between pretend play and creativity is important to explore. This thought-provoking book summarizes what we know and points the way toward future research. Book jacket.