Children build a unique bond with play partners, a new study finds
New research has shown children's social skills might not be as important as previously thought for how they play together in the early school years.
07 March 2023
Instead, it's who they're playing with that most affects how they play.
The study, which was published by the British Journal of Developmental Psychology today, found that it was who children were playing with that affected how they communicate about play, much more than their individual social skills.
Researchers, who recorded free play sessions, were looking for examples of 'connectedness', measuring how six to seven year old children cooperated, shared ideas and took turns to speak when they were placed into pairs and given a Playmobile toy set to play with.
In the study the children had been measured based on their skills in tuning into others' perspectives (theory of mind), understanding others' emotions (emotion comprehension) and their language ability. But the study found that it was in fact the bond that children formed with their play partner more than those other factors which more affected their connectedness. Researchers also noted whether the children were already friends and whether they had chosen the pairing, with results suggesting that more research should consider factors such as how the pair's relationship influences their play and communication.
In the study the children behaved more similarly to their play partners, and their communication also depended on their partner's communication. Researchers suggest that children may mirror their play partner's communication or select friends who use similar communication styles. Children communicated much more similarly to their partner than to children in other pairs, suggesting that the connection with the play partner itself is vital to understanding children's play.
The authors said:
"Social play involves a number of complex factors, so it's not surprising that some pairs were more connected and cooperative than others. But the reasons why were surprising. We realised that it was not the usually studied factors such as a child's existing socio-cognitive skills which most affected how they communicated with the partner, but instead who the play partner was.
"Our study shows that at this age, individual differences in children's socio-cognitive skills may not be directly related to their engagement in connected talk in a play setting. We hope this study will help understanding of the importance of social play for school-aged children, and that further research will explore the connections that children make with each other through play."