A Theory Of Mind And The Development Of Socially Competent Behaviour

Dramatic play permits children to fit the reality of the world into their own interests and knowledge. One of the purest forms of symbolic thought available to young children, dramatic play, contributes strongly to the intellectual development of children. Young children learn by imagining and doing and dramatic play allows them to do so. Dramatic play also promotes the use of speaking and listening skills. When children take part in this type of play, they practice words they have heard others say, and realize that they must listen to what other “players” say in order to be able to respond in an appropriate fashion. This style of play also promotes the development of social skills through interaction with others, peers or adults, which is a necessary factor in a child’s future.

According to Lev Vygotsky, in the article Play: The Work of Lev Vygotsky (2017), when children partake in play they are building their language and cognitive development

Three Years: Pretend play helps children to de-centre as they explore how others might feel, think or act. They become aware of gender roles and start to make special friends. As imagination develops, children become easily afraid of things such as the dark or pretend monsters, etc. They begin to learn about negotiation.

Piaget (1952) {cited in Maynard & Thomas, 2009:103} believed play is assimilative and that it enhances existing knowledge. He also believed play ‘...allowed children to perfect, rather than acquire, developing skills.’ In settings children build upon existing skills whilst playing.

Theory of mind (ToM) is “the specific ability to attribute mental states to oneself and to others” (Pellicano, 2007, p. 974). Attributing mental states essentially allows one to read another’s body language and therefore predicts their behavior. This is important in the socialization of a child, something that an autistic child struggles with. Baron-Cohen et al. (2000) believe the term ToM is synonymous with social intelligence. The executive function (EF) is “a set of functions thought to be necessary for flexible, future-oriented behavior, especially in novel circumstances” (Pellicano, 2007, p. 974). The executive function is involved in many aspects of development, including working memory, the ability to plan effectively, and flexibility in focusing one’s attention to different people and objects. In a young child’s development, EF and ToM play a significant role. There are contradicting theories about which aspect affects the other, but it appears that the general belief is that together, they have an affect and that the two functions feed off of each (Pellicano, 2007). Pellicano (2007) found that in autistic children, when the EF is impaired, ToM is not intact. In other words, autistic children cannot read other’s body language if they have an impairment in their EF. Additionally, because of this impairment, they show an inability to be flexible, use their working memory, or plan for the future (Pellicano, 2007). One of the

165 and Wood & Attfield's 1996, p.76.) It encourages children to develop the ability to control their actions and emotions and adjust them to the recognized social norm and in addition to that, play helps children to prepare themselves to become an active member of a culture and their own family by interacting with the people closest to them, such as parents and other family members (Vygotsky, as cited in Brennan, 2012, p.162.) As a result of this, their social and emotional development is advanced from an early stage.

From an early age children are known to engage in a number of activities in which would feed their curiosity alongside aiding their development. The main activity in which they would willingly participate in would be pretend play; play is not something which is only done by children however can be performed by adults and even animals.

Free from adult obligations and unburdened by serious responsibilities, children are likely to spend many of their days role-playing imaginative scenarios, an activity known as pretend play [CITE CITE]. Typically appearing around the age of twelve months, pretend play is initially central to the self, before expanding to include peers and objects [CITE]. As well as being an effective way to keep children entertained, prominent psychologist Lev Vygotsky believed pretend play to be a complex process which fosters the development of vital cognitive operations such as self-regulation (impulse control, self-direction, planning, and appropriate social behaviour) and symbolic thought (assigning an alternative meaning to something), known together

Children can learn through play how to take turns, problem solving, decision making and many more, childrenâ€TMs imagination is

There are numerous theories of play and countless theorists, from Freud and Spencer to Piaget and Vygotsky, who have studied play in relation to what it is and what it does for the child. This essay will outline the definition and value of play and the importance of how it can foster the child’s learning in regards to these theorists who studied the effects in great detail. It will discuss the how the environments constructed by educators can impact play and the theories of learning relating to the quote “play and learning are inextricably woven together ...” Ebbeck and Waniganayake, 2010, p. 5).

According to Berk & Meyer (2016) make-believe play is an example of the development of representation in early childhood (p.312). Play detaches from the real life conditions associated with it: During this observation, when the children were playing in the building area, they knew that the blocks were an object but that it could represent something else, such as they were building castles and towers. According to Berk & Meyer (2016) by age 3, children can understand that an object may take on one fictional identity in one pretend game and another fictional identity in a different pretend game (p.312). Another group of children was playing in the toy cars area, they were pretending that they were the ones driving the car in a race. This is an example of sociodramatic play. According to Berk & Meyer (2016), a sociodramatic play is the make-believe play with others that is under way by the end of the second year and that increases rapidly in complexity during early childhood (p.312). Yet, I noticed that during this play time some children struggle more than others, it was hard for some children to have an understanding of roles in the game due to the fact that they couldn't follow the plot or where impatient to wait for their turn. This is a skill that children master at the end of preschool years. Interestingly, despite that many children were playing in groups, there was this one child, a boy with dark hair

Play is considered as an important tool for emotional development as children recognise themselves more clearly and they are encouraged to fully realize their potential (Oliver & Klugman, 2002). Piaget explains that during pre-operational stage children develop their ability to distinguish between the real and mental world by using an object as a symbol for something else rather than the object itself and Vygotsky also agreed to this concept (Dockett & Fleer, 2002). Play enables them to share their play with their peers and listen to others point of views which develop their empathy (Smidt, 2011). Play positively affects the emotional well- being of the child when they show their enjoyment through laughter, smiles. They get motivated to play when they are the active participants in the play and achieve mastery in known fields being acknowledged by the adults. It gives them internal excitement which nurtures their desire to learn.

Play tests the ability of the children to be able to develop ideas around places and objective. The pretend play assists children in developing important critical thinking and evaluative skills. For instance, the board games tech the children importance concept such as waiting, turn-taking and socialization with other students. Children during play use gross and fine motor skills and react socially to each other. The children thinking what they are going to do and use language to communicate with one another and they respond emotionally to the activities.

We know that young children develop social skills through play, and that they develop critical thinking skills and language is enriched and vocabulary increased. Play, especially make-believe play, aids in the child's development of the execution function, which is a key role in the child's ability to self-regulate. The curriculum "Tools of the Mind" approaches learning as socially mediated by peers and focused on play.

“For young children, there is no distinction between play and learning; they are one and the same. Playing is a priority in early childhood, yet not all play is the same” (Butler, 2008, p. 1). Since the beginning of mankind children have imitated adults and learned to survive through play. Evidence of this includes toys and board games from 6,000 years ago that have been found in Egypt and Asia (Dollinger, 2000). In the last two centuries, child’s play has been observed and studied by theorists and recognized as an important tool for adult life. Three theorists that studied children and spent their lives researching how children develop were Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. These theorists agreed that from the time a child is