The role of maternal behavior in children's pretense during the second year of life

Autor(en)
Gabriela Markova, Maria Legerstee
Abstrakt

In a cross-sectional study we investigated children's pretense and imitation of pretense at 12, 15, and 18 months of age during natural play and pretend play with their mothers and during imitation and causal transformation tasks with an experimenter. Maternal pretense, imitation of pretense, and verbalizations were also coded during mother–child interactions. Results showed that the frequency of child pretense increased with age across all conditions. Child imitation of pretense remained consistent in all age groups during interactions with mothers, while it peaked at 15 months and then decreased during pretense tasks with the experimenter. Children also engaged in more imitation with mothers during pretend play than during natural play. Additionally, maternal pretense predicted child imitation whereas maternal imitation and verbalizations predicted child pretense. These findings indicate that specific maternal behaviors scaffold pretense and facilitate imitation of pretense in very young children.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie
Externe Organisation(en)
York University
Journal
Cognitive Development
Band
34
Seiten
3-15
Anzahl der Seiten
13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2014.12.011
Publikationsdatum
01-2015
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
501005 Entwicklungspsychologie, 501009 Kinder- und Jugendpsychologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Developmental and Educational Psychology
Link zum Portal
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/publications/the-role-of-maternal-behavior-in-childrens-pretense-during-the-second-year-of-life(aa41a6ee-e4b1-4f10-be16-a914b57b0e19).html