Work

Signs of Pretense Across Age and Scenario

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: Participation in imagined worlds is a hallmark of the human species, and yet we know little about the context of its early emergence. The experiments reported here replicated and extended in 2 directions Lillard and Witherington's (2004) study of how mothers pretend to have snacks, across different ages of children (15- to 24-month-olds, Experiment 1) and to a different scenario (personal grooming, Experiment 2). Mothers' pretend behaviors changed little as infants aged, but there were some scenario differences. Most striking in this research was the consistency with which particular maternal pretend behaviors were associated with children engaging in pretense behaviors and smiling. The findings are discussed with reference to the child's emerging skills in joint attention and social referencing.

Source: Infancy

DOI: 10.1207/s15327078in1101_1

Authors: Angeline Lillard, Tracy Nishida, Davide Massaro, Amrisha Vaish, Lili Ma, Gerald McRoberts

Institutions: University of Virginia, Lehigh University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Award: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE SIGNS OF PRETENSE