The role of play in human development has long been the subject of controversy. Despite being championed by many of the foremost scholars of the twentieth century, play has been dogged by ...underrepresentation and marginalization in literature across the scientific disciplines. "The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play" marks the first attempt to examine the development of children's play through a rigorous and multidisciplinary approach. Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, this handbook resets the landscape of developmental science and makes a compelling case for the benefits of play. Edited by respected play researcher Anthony D. Pellegrini, "The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play" is both a scientific accomplishment and a shot across the bow for parents, educators, and policymakers regarding the importance of children's play in both development and learning. This book comprises 24 specially-commissioned chapters by the leading psychologists, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists in the field of play. It discusses human play from an ethological perspective, examining its ontogeny, phylogeny (especially across primate species), proximal factors and functions. It also emphasizes the importance of play in the debate over the role of recess in the school curriculum. It is divided into seven parts. Part I, Introduction and Overview, contains the following: (1) Introduction (Anthony D. Pellegrini). Part II, Definitions, contains the following: (2) Defining and Recognizing Play (Gordon M. Burghardt); and (3) Cultural Variations in Beliefs about Play, Parent-Child Play, and Children's Play: Meaning for Childhood Development (Jaipaul L. Roopnarine). Part III, Theories, contains the following: (4) Theories of Play (Patrick Bateson); (5) Comparing and Extending Piaget's and Vygotsky's Understandings of Play: Symbolic play as Individual, Sociocultural, and Educational Interpretation (Artin Goncu and Suzanne Gaskins); (6) Gene X Environment Interactions and Social Play: Contributions from Rhesus Macaques (Khalisa N. Herman, Annika Paukner, and Stephen J. Suomi); (7) Playing at Every Age: Modalities and Potential Functions in Non-Human Primates (Elisabetta Palagi); (8) Play and Development (Robert M. Fagen); (9) The History of Children's Play in the United States (Howard P. Chudacoff); and (10) The Antipathies of Play (Brian Sutton-Smith). Part IV, Methods, contains the following: (11) The Cultural Ecology of Play: Methodological Considerations for Studying Play in Its Everyday Contexts (Jonathan R. H. Tudge, Jill R. Brown, and Lia B. L. Freitas); and (12) Observational Methods in Studying Play (Peter K. Smith). Part V, Dimensions of Play, contains the following: (13) Object Play and Tool Use: Developmental and Evolutionary Perspectives (David F. Bjorklund and Amy K. Gardiner); (14) The Development and Function of Locomotor Play (Anthony D. Pellegrini); (15) Not Just "Playing Alone": Exploring Multiple Forms of Nonsocial Play in Childhood (Robert J. Coplan); (16) Internalizing and Externalizing Disorders during Childhood: Implications for Social Play (David Schwartz and Daryaneh Badaly); (17) Gender and Temperament in Young Children's Social Interactions (Carol Lynn Martin, Richard A. Fabes, Laura D. Hanish); (18) Social Play of Children with Adults and Peers (Carollee Howes); (19) Rough-and-Tumble Play: Training and Using the Social Brain (Sergio M. Pellis and Vivien C. Pellis); (20) Children's Games and Playground Activities in School and Their Role in Development (Ed Baines and Peter Blatchford); (21) Mother-Child Fantasy Play (Angeline S. Lillard); (22) Origins and Consequences of Social Pretend Play (Robert D. Kavanaugh); (23) The Development of Pretend Play in Autism (Christopher Jarrold and Carmel Conn); and (24) Technology and Play (Jeffrey Goldstein). Part VI, Education, contains the following: (25) Playing around in School: Implications for Learning and Educational Policy (Kelly Fisher, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta M. Golinkoff, Dorothy G. Singer, and Laura Berk). Finally, Part VII contains a conclusion by Anthony D. Pellegrini.
This book is concerned with using observational methods, primarily in everyday settings. By observational methods, I mean methods which are based on direct observations of behavior. These methods ...contrast with other methods, such as questionnaires and interviews. This book will help you learn the skills to construct a verbal picture of behaviors as they unfold in time. The descriptions of these methods are very useful for a number of important ventures, such as basic scientific research and more applied enterprises, such as working with children and families.
As discussed in the preceding chapters, basic choices are made by researchers in the ways in which they choose to quantify behavior. In this chapter, I continue this discussion by describing some of ...the ways in which categories can be measured. By meas-ure, I mean different ways in which categories can be quantified. Specific measurement concerns covered include: frequency, duration, latency, pattern, and intensity. Then I will describe the ways in which the categories can be sampled from the stream of on-going behavior and then recorded. Issues of category independence are especially important for sampling, and will be discussed as well.
Choosing a Perspective Pellegrini, Anthony D; Hoch, John; Symons, Frank
Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds,
2013, 2012
Book Chapter
As noted earlier, observational methods can be used in both laboratory and "naturalistic" settings. In Chapter 2 we discussed the ways in which experimentation helps the researcher to determine ...causality. One of the real advantages to the use of direct observations, however, is the ability to document behavior in situ, or in the situations in which it occurs. A benefit of such an approach is the power to document the dynamic relations between context and observed behavior. However, and even with this general level of commonality, there are very different theoretical orientations towards observing individuals in their natural contexts. At a global level, a distinction is often made in social science research between two perspectives: qualitative and quantitative. As I will discuss in more detail below, these labels are inadequate as they imply that one uses numbers and the other does not (Shwreder et al., 1998). In this chapter I will make a distinction in terms of insider or outsider perspectives.
Like other areas of technology, software and hardware for observational research have advanced rapidly in the last few years. The software possibilities for researchers to enter observations, range ...from homemade freeware programs developed by other researchers for use in their labs, to polished commercial packages costing thousands of dollars. Smart phones, tablet computers and Netbooks have lowered the costs and expanded the choices of software and hardware. Digital video recording is available as inexpensive stand alone equipment and on most cell phones.
Validity Pellegrini, Anthony D; Hoch, John; Symons, Frank
Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds,
2013, 2012
Book Chapter
At a very simple level, validity means truthfulness. Validity is concerned with the basic questions: Are you measuring what it is you say you were measuring? Does the meaning assigned to a measure, ...variable, or construct, really correspond to the empirical meaning? Do the variables you're manipulating in your experiment have a causal relation with each other? Do the results generalize to other settings?
Asking the Research Question Pellegrini, Anthony D; Hoch, John; Symons, Frank
Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds,
2013, 2012
Book Chapter
Perhaps the most important point in any research project is the clarity of the research question. You should aim to ask a very specific question to orient your work, and this question, in turn, will ...lead to hypotheses. As I will discuss, the question/hypothesis stage should involve the thinking and re-thinking of your ideas, and talking about them with others so as to clarify your thoughts. This process should not be rushed; it requires thought and refinement. There are many clichés that typify rushing through this process: An ounce of prevention ... Trash in-trash out. Clichéd as they are, they do indeed describe the need to spend time and thought on refining a question.
Science, Psychology, and Research Pellegrini, Anthony D; Hoch, John; Symons, Frank
Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds,
2013, 2012
Book Chapter
At first blush, some readers may be taken aback by the use of the word "science" in the title of this chapter. Don't be, because I use the term "science" in a general sense whereby hypotheses are ...first generated and then tested, in a cycle of induction and deduction. Hypotheses, as you'll see, are educated "hunches," derived from theory, that are held up for scrutiny: Does the evidence support or fail to support the hypothesis? Direct observations are a crucial part of this process for both basic research and for solving problems in everyday settings, such as in schools and families. In this chapter, I will discuss, generally, the nature of science and the scientific method, and how they are applicable to observational methods in the context of social science research. Positioning social science as "science," rather than, say art, situates it in a context with extant rules and conventions for conducting research. Indeed, different definitions of science limit those activities which would be considered "research." This chapter will serve to orient you to basic assumptions associated with conducting scientific research.
Coming Up With Categories Pellegrini, Anthony D; Hoch, John; Symons, Frank
Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds,
2013, 2012
Book Chapter
In this chapter I consider how you come up with a category system to be used in observational research. I consider using extant systems as well as developing one's own system. As part of this process ...I discuss the importance of keeping categories and the data derived from each, independent of each other.
Indirect Observational Methods Pellegrini, Anthony D; Hoch, John; Symons, Frank
Observing Children in Their Natural Worlds,
2013, 2012
Book Chapter
In this chapter I will discuss some of the ways in which to collect observational data indirectly. These techniques are in contrast to the direct observational techniques that have dominated most of ...this book. Rather than relying on "live" observational techniques in the field, in this chapter I will explore some ways in which you can collect information without actually being in the field. These indirect techniques are particularly useful in collecting information about individuals in nonpublic settings, such as in the home: Places where issues of logistics/economics (e.g. traveling to individual homes spread across a diverse area) or privacy-related concerns (e.g. the impracticality of being in homes during the early morning) prevent you from actually being present to conduct direct observations. Instead, these procedures rely on participants' immediate or recollected observations of behaviors of interest. Some of the techniques to be discussed in this chapter include: rating scales, remote or spot sampling, diaries, and remote tape recorders left at data collection sites. As I will discuss, these indirect methods can be used either by themselves or in concert with direct observational methods. First, I discuss some general reasons for choosing an indirect strategy over a more direct one.
