As the academic year commences, a well-known child developmental psychologist emphasizes the significant advantages of pretend play for children’s cognitive, social, and emotional growth. He also raises concerns about how ‘learning through play’ has evolved to meet the challenges of modern society. He notes that childhood, shaped by natural selection, was designed for acquiring and honing skills suited to our species, largely through pretend play. It is regrettable, he argues, that current culture is overlooking the traditional methods of educating young children that have been developed over time.
Bjorklund characterizes pretend play in young children as a “metaphoric multivitamin,” which supports social skills and creativity, in an editorial featured in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.
As the school year gains momentum, David F. Bjorklund, Ph.D., associate chair and professor in the Department of Psychology at FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, discusses the many strong benefits of pretend play on children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. He warns that the concept of “learning through play” has shifted due to modern societal demands.
Bjorklund notes that the process of natural selection has crafted childhood to help children acquire and refine social-cognitive skills through pretend play, and he finds it unfortunate that contemporary culture dismisses the established wisdom regarding the best ways to educate young children.
“Throughout human history and among traditional cultures today, children learn crucial cultural knowledge and skills through play and observation, often imitating adult behaviors in their play,” Bjorklund explains. “Pretend play is linked to a variety of cognitive advancements, including executive function, language skills, and perspective-taking, which are vital for education. Therefore, reducing pretend play is an unwise choice.”
Bjorklund explains that in traditional societies, it’s uncommon for adults to directly teach children, which likely was also the case for our hunter-gatherer ancestors. However, as society evolved with complex technologies like reading and math, and the necessity for universal education emerged, formal schooling became vital, which has recently expanded to include early childhood education.
“In many developed nations, preschool education has become more common over the years. Unlike the past, when ‘learning through play’ was the foundation of the curriculum, many modern preschools now focus more on direct instruction, akin to teaching methods for older children,” he remarks. “This reflects a disconnect between children’s natural learning styles and the current societal expectations.”
Pretend play is typically spontaneous and voluntary, particularly when a child is relaxed and free from stress, and usually does not have an immediate practical purpose.
“In the realm of pretend play, children develop skills such as imagination, creative thinking, mental time travel, and imitation, among other symbolic abilities,” Bjorklund states.
He adds that pretend play serves as a crucial experience-expectant process, readying the brain for focused learning.
“It’s unclear whether the extended childhood period led to more opportunities for play or if playfulness developed as a result of this protracted childhood,” Bjorklund explains. “Nonetheless, this evolution in childhood, coupled with prolonged neural plasticity, may have been vital for cultivating the modern human mind.”
He asserts that pretend play likely plays a significant role in nurturing and perfecting psychological skills instead of merely being necessary for their initial development.
“Advanced pretend play is most noticeable during the extended juvenile phase in humans,” he comments. “This extension results in a unique childhood stage lasting until around age 7, marked by increased independence and social interactions.”
During this phase, children engage in more elaborate play as their cognitive capabilities continue to expand. Bjorklund highlights that this extended juvenile timeframe and its associated neural plasticity are critical for developing our exceptional social-cognitive skills.
Research comparing play-based preschool curriculums to direct instruction approaches consistently indicates that while direct instruction may produce immediate gains, play-based methods result in more significant long-term benefits, both academically and regarding students’ attitudes toward school.
“One comprehensive study on the long-term effects of direct instruction for preschoolers from low-income families discovered that while there were initial academic improvements, those benefits faded over time,” Bjorklund elaborates. “By third grade, students in the control group surpassed those in the direct-instruction program, and this disparity widened by sixth grade.”
These observations prompted researchers to reconsider the effectiveness of intensive training on basic skills and investigate the benefits of play-centered preschool programs, particularly for children who may face intellectual challenges.
Bjorklund notes that opportunities for recess and free play for older children have been declining in developed nations, often replaced by adult-led activities that contradict what we know about children’s natural learning styles.
“These trends can make learning more difficult and may undermine children’s feelings of autonomy regarding their education,” says Bjorklund. “Pretend play has evolved to aid children in acquiring and refining essential cultural knowledge and skills during an extended juvenile period. The skills required by modern children have evolved, necessitating innovative learning methods, yet we should not overlook the substantial benefits that pretend play continues to provide for our youngest members of society.”
