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Symbolic play as a zone of proximal development: An analysis of informational exchange
Author(s) -
Creaghe Noëlie,
Kidd Evan
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/sode.12592
Subject(s) - psychology , dialogical self , context (archaeology) , the symbolic , symbolic interactionism , meaning (existential) , zone of proximal development , dynamics (music) , developmental psychology , social psychology , cognitive psychology , pedagogy , paleontology , psychoanalysis , psychotherapist , biology
Symbolic play has long been considered a beneficial context for development. According to Cultural Learning theory, one reason for this is that symbolically‐infused dialogical interactions constitute a zone of proximal development. However, the dynamics of caregiver‐child interactions during symbolic play are still not fully understood. In the current study, we investigated informational exchange between fifty‐two 24‐month‐old infants and their primary caregivers during symbolic play and a comparable, non‐symbolic, functional play context. We coded over 11,000 utterances for whether participants had superior, equivalent, or inferior knowledge concerning the current conversational topic. Results showed that children were significantly more knowledgeable speakers and recipients in symbolic play, whereas the opposite was the case for caregivers, who were more knowledgeable in functional play. The results suggest that, despite its potential conceptual complexity, symbolic play may scaffold development because it facilitates infants’ communicative success by promoting them to ‘co‐constructors of meaning’.