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Social and Nonsocial Play
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Social and Nonsocial Play
Robert J. Coplan a, Kenneth H. Rubin b, & Leanne C. Findlay a
a
Carleton University
b
University of Maryland
In D.P. Fromberg & D. Bergen (Eds.), Play from birth to twelve (2nd edition). New York:
Garland.
2
Social and Nonsocial Play
In this chapter, we distinguish between structural and contextual features of play, broadly
defined. For example, from a structural perspective, theorists have distinguished among
functional, constructive, and dramatic behaviors, as well as games-with-rules (e.g., Piaget, 1962;
Smilansky, 1968). These structural forms of play occur in a variety of social contexts. In this
essay we examine both ends of the social participation spectrum, exploring both social play
(activities that take place when two or more partners interact with one another in both literal and
non-literal fashions) and nonsocial play (solitary activities in the presence of peers). We define
both social and non-social play and address questions such as, “Why are these forms of behavior
of developmental significance?”; “How does one assess social and nonsocial play?"; and "What
are the predictors, concomitants, and outcomes associated with individual differences in social
and nonsocial play?". It is argued herein that social play provides a unique and important
context for young children's social, social-cognitive, and emotional development, and that some
forms of nonsocial play can reflect psychosocial maladaptation, whereas others may be
developmentally benign.
Defining social and nonsocial play
Rubin, Fein and Vandenberg (1983) defined play in terms of the following
characteristics: (1) Play is not governed by appetitive drives, compliance with social demands, or
by inducements external to the behavior itself; instead play is intrinsically motivated; (2) play is
spontaneous, free from external sanctions, and its goals are self-imposed; (3) play asks "What
can I do with this object or person?" (this differentiates play from exploration which asks "What
is this object /person and what I do with it/him/her?"); (4) play is not a serious rendition of an
activity or a behavior it resembles; instead it consists of activities that can be labelled as pretense
3
(i.e., play must comprise non-literality); (5) play is free from externally imposed rules (this
distinguishes play from games-with-rules; and (6) play involves active engagement (this
distinguishes play from daydreaming, lounging, and aimless loafing).
Given these definitional criteria, we admit that the following discussion of social and
nonsocial play spreads well beyond the boundaries of the above-noted definition. Nevertheless,
our terminology is accepted in the current Zeitgeist of research pertaining to play, and we will
return to the original definitional criteria during the course of this chapter.
To state the obvious, that which distinguishes social play from other forms of play
involves the notion of interaction with others. Social play occurs among dyads and larger groups.
It occurs when the child (a) is motivated to engage others in playful activities; (b) is able to
regulate emotional arousal; (c) possesses the skills necessarily to initiate interactions with
another child, such that; (d) the social overtures are accepted in kind. Accordingly, social play
compromises the associated constructs of social participation, social competence, and sociability,
and typically involves two (or more) children participating in functional-sensorimotor,
constructive, and dramatic activities, and games-with-rules. It also comprises active
conversations between children as they go about interacting with each other, negotiating play
roles and game rules.
In contrast, for the purposes of this chapter, nonsocial play is defined as the display of
solitary activities and behaviors in the presence of other potential play partners. An important
component of this definition involves the presence of other people, which infers the opportunity
to engage in social interaction and group-oriented play. Thus, from this perspective, a child who
is playing quietly alone in his/her room at home would not be engaging in nonsocial play, per se,
as there are no play partners in the immediate vicinity.
4
Social participation. In the 1920's, several attempts were made to develop
comprehensive taxonomies for describing children's social interactions with peers. Andrus
(1924) and Verry (1923), for example, systematically observed nursery school children and
created various categories to categorize social and nonsocial play. Verry (1923) included the
categories of 'treating playmates as objects' and 'cooperating within the group' within her various
types of social attitudes. A few years later, Bott (1928) developed a coding scheme which
included the category of ‘occupied with other children’. Within this category, the behaviors of
talking, watching, interference, imitation, and cooperation were distinguished.
Parten's (1932) observational framework is perhaps the best known of the early social
participation taxonomies. In her now classic study, Parten defined two categories of socially
interactive play. During associative play, the child interacts with other children and may be
using similar materials, however, there is no real cooperation or division of labour. Cooperative
play consists of a group activity organized for the purpose of carrying out some plan of action or
attaining some goal. Play partners coordinate their behaviors and take particular roles in pursuit
of the common goal. In studies postdating the 1970’s, associative play and cooperative play were
combined as social play.
Parten also defined four categories comprising nonsocial or "semi"-social play activities.
These included: (1) Unoccupied behavior -- the demonstration of a marked absence of focus or
intent (e.g., child stares blankly into space or wanders aimlessly); (2) Onlooker behavior -- the
observation of others’ activities without an attempt to enter into the peers' activity; (3) Solitary
play -- playing apart from other children (at a distance greater than three feet) and paying little or
no attention to others; and (4) Parallel play -- the child plays beside (i.e., within 3 feet) but not
with other children.
5
The legacy of Parten's (1932) taxonomy of social participation is that is continues to be
used in studies that bear no striking resemblance to those originally published in the 1930’s.
Contemporary researchers have refined the original scale for purposes of examining
developmental, cultural, and individual differences in children's social and nonsocial “play”,
broadly defined.
The developmental significance of social play
Theorists have been positing the developmental significance of peer interaction for over
fifty years (see Rubin, Coplan, Chen, Buskirk, & Wojslawowicz, in press, for a recent review).
The early work of Piaget (e.g., 1926, 1932), Mead (1934) and Sullivan (1953) emphasized the
importance of peer involvement for children’s social development. Piaget suggested that peer
interaction provides children with an important and unique learning environment. In particular,
exposure to instances of interpersonal differences of opinion and thought with one’s peers (as
opposed to interactions with adults), and opportunities for discussion and negotiation about these
differences, were viewed as aiding children in the acquisition and development of sensitive
perspective-taking skills in interpersonal relationships.
Mead (1934) echoed Piaget's emphasis on the importance of the development of
perspective-taking through peer interaction; however, he also stressed the significance of peer
interaction in the development of the self-system. In particular, Mead believed that exchanges
among peers, in the contexts of cooperation, competition, conflict, and friendly discussion,
allowed the child to gain an understanding of the self as both subject and object. According to
the notion of the “looking glass self”, Mead suggested that children experienced themselves
indirectly through the responses of their peers. Finally, Sullivan (1953) proposed that peer
relationships are essential for the development of skills for cooperation, compromise, empathy
6
and altruism. Sullivan emphasized the importance of 'chumships', or special relationships, for the
emergence of these concepts. The underlying thread connecting these theorists is the emphasis
on experiences within the peer group, and its role in the acquisition, maintenance, and practice of
important social skills.
It was assumed that peer interaction and particularly social play, as defined above, was of
developmental significance. Researchers have long since provided support for this conjecture
(e.g., Azmitia, Lippman, & Ittel, 1999; Hogan & Tudge, 1999; Rogoff, 1997). These theoretical
positions and the empirical support of them take on somewhat different meaning when one
ponders the question, “What about those who rarely engage others in social play?”. We address
this question below.
Assessing social and nonsocial play
There currently exist many different measures designed to assess social and nonsocial
play and its related constructs. These measures can be characterized in terms of the source of
information regarding children's play behaviors: (a) outside sources; and (b) direct observation.
Outside source assessments. Outside source assessment procedures involve asking
"expert" informants, such as peers, parents, and teachers, to rate or nominate children's social
inclinations. There are several advantages to using paper-and-pencil rating scales or nomination
techniques. To begin with, outside source assessment is comparatively quick and inexpensive.
As well, parents, classmates and teachers have the potential to observe children in many different
circumstances and for long periods of time; thus, they can make inferences about specific
children's "everyday" behaviors.
The disadvantage of outside source observation methods center on the use of untrained
observers for the purpose of data collection. There may be some bias in their ratings of the
7
children's characteristic social behavior patterns. More importantly, however, because they are
untrained, they may not be able to identify specific and detailed aspects of behaviors. This may
be particularly germane when assessing social and nonsocial play, as distinctions are made
between very fine-grained components of behaviors.
Perhaps as a result, although there are a plethora of measures designed to examine related
constructs (i.e., children's social competence, personality, temperament, classroom behaviors),
there are relatively few teacher and parent rating scale measures designed specifically to assess
social and nonsocial play. In the last few years, several measures have evolved, including the
Preschool Play Behavior Scale (Coplan & Rubin, 1998), the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale
(Fantuzzo, Coolahan, Mendez, McDermott, & Sutton-Smith, 1998), and the Teacher Behavior
Rating Scale (Hart et al, 2000). However, the most common method used to assess young
children’s social and nonsocial play has been through the use of direct behavioral observations.
Direct observations. Direct observation techniques involve the systematic recording of
children's behaviors. There are several advantages of observational techniques. First, the
behaviors observed are face valid. Second, 'blind' observers reduce biases in the coding process.
That is, coders are not influenced by their past knowledge of a child's behaviors. Finally, coders
can be trained to observe and record very specific and detailed behaviors.
Disadvantages of observational techniques included obvious costs in time and personnel.
Also, coders may be limited in the contexts, settings, and time frames during which they can
observe behavior. Methodological advances in both time- and event-sampling techniques,
however, have increased the generalizibility of direct observational techniques.
There currently exist several observational coding schemes designed to assess social and
nonsocial play and their related constructs (see Gitlin-Weiner, Sandgrund, & Schaefer, 2000, for
8
a review). The social aspects of children's play have been investigated using time sampling (e.g.,
Spinrad et al., 2004); event samples (e.g., Harrist, Zaia, Bates, Dodge & Pettit, 1997)); and scan
samples (e.g., Ladd & Profilet, 1996). These coding schemes have been employed to observe
social and nonsocial play in laboratory playrooms (e.g., Rubin, Cheah, & Fox, 2001), classrooms
(e.g., Coplan, Gavinski-Molina, Lagace-Seguin, & Wichmann, 2001), and on the playground
(e.g., Hart, 1993). In our work, we have made frequent use of the Play Observation Scale (POS,
Rubin, 2001). This measure is described in more detail below.
The Play Observation Scale. The Play Observation Scale (POS, Rubin, 2001) was
developed in the 1970’s to allow observations to be made of the structural components of play
(as defined by Piaget, 1932 and Smilansky, 1968) as they were nested in the social participation
contexts described by Parten (1932). Early work focused on developmental, normative
observations of preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school children during “free play” (e.g.,
Rubin, Hymel, & Mills, 1989; Rubin & Krasnor, 1980; Rubin, Maioni, & Hornung, 1976;
Rubin, Watson, & Jambot, 1978). The POS employs a time sampling methodology within which
10 second segments are coded for both social participation (e.g., solitary, parallel, group) and the
cognitive quality of children's play (e.g., functional-sensorimotor, constructive, dramatic, gameswith-rules). Several additional free play behaviors are assessed, including instances of
unoccupied behavior, onlooking, exploration, peer conversation, anxious behaviors, hovering,
transitional behavior, rough-and-tumble play, and aggression. The POS coding taxonomy is
illustrated in Figure 1.
--- insert Figure 1 about here --The use of the POS in our laboratories (e.g., Coplan, Bowker, & Cooper, 2003; Coplan et
al., 2001; Coplan, Prakash, O’Neil, & Armer, 2004; Rubin, Burgess, & Hastings, 2002; Rubin,
9
Chen, McDougall, Bowker, & McKinnon, 1995) and in many others (e.g., Fox, Henderson,
Rubin, Calkins, & Schmidt, 2001; Guralnick, Hammond, & Connor, 2003; Henderson, Marshall,
Fox, & Rubin, 2004; Lloyd & Howe, 2003) has allowed for a clearer understanding of children's
social play and nonsocial play behaviors.
The POS has been particularly influential in allowing for a detailed assessment of
children’s nonsocial play. Using the POS, we have combined aspects of Parten’s nonsocial
participation categories to create three distinct sub-types of nonsocial play behaviors (e.g.,
Coplan, Rubin, Fox, & Calkins, 1994). Thus, for example, reticent behavior is identified by the
frequent production of onlooking behaviors (prolonged watching of other children without
accompanying play) or being unoccupied (wandering aimlessly, staring off into space). Solitarypassive play includes the quiescent exploration of objects and/or constructive activity while
playing alone. Finally, solitary-active play is characterized by repeated sensorimotor actions
with or without objects (functional activities) and/or by solitary dramatizing. As described
below, each of these different forms of nonsocial play appear to have different meanings, reflect
different developmental pathways, and are associated with decidedly different psychosocial
outcomes.
Individual differences in social and nonsocial play
It is well documented that with increasing age, children are more likely to engage in
social play (see Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998 for a review). However, there also exist
marked individual differences in the degree to which children are socially initiative and willing
to participate in peer play. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that individual
differences in children’s social and nonsocial play patterns are influenced by children’s
dispositional characteristics (temperament, sex), social motivations, and social competence.
10
Indeed, play patterns are also influenced by the cultures within which children live. In this
regard, the display of social play and different forms of nonsocial play can be considered marker
variables for psychosocial adjustment in childhood.
Temperament and biological influences. There is growing support for a link between
biology and social play. This link can be accessed through the study of temperamental
characteristics that serve as biologically-based precursors to the display of different play styles.
For example, Kagan (e.g., Kagan, Reznick, & Snidman, 1999; Kagan & Saudino, 2001) has
distinguished between inhibited and uninhibited children. The former group can be characterized
as being quiet, hypervigilant, and restrained while they experience novel situations. The latter
group, alternatively, reacts with spontaneity, as if they do not distinguish between novel and
familiar situations. Inhibited children, compared to their uninhibited counterparts, have higher
and more stable heart rates, larger pupil diameters, greater motor tension, and higher levels of
morning cortisol (see Sanson, Hemphill, & Smart, 2004, for a recent review). These data are
viewed as supporting the notion that inhibited children have a biologically predispositioned low
threshold for arousal in the face of novelty.
Several researchers have argued that physiological mechanisms of emotional regulation are
important components of children's dispositions to engage others in interactions or to withdraw
from them (e.g., Eisenberg, Shepard, Fabes, Murphy, & Guthrie, 1998; Fabes, Hanish, Martin, &
Eisenberg, 2002; Gunnar, Sebanc, Tout, Donzella, & van Dulmen, 2003; Henderson et al.,
2004). These physiological mechanisms include patterns of hemispheric imbalance (as measured
by EEG activation) and vagal tone (a measure of parasympathetic control over heart rate) (Fox,
Rubin, Calkins, Marshall, Coplan, Porges, & Long, 1995; Schmidt, Calkins, Rubin, & Coplan,
1995; Porges & Doussard-Roosevelt, 1997; Schmidt & Schulkin, 1999). For example, Fox and
11
colleagues (2001) found that stable inhibited children displayed greater right frontal EEG
activity at 9 months and 4 years of age than did the uninhibited group, and were also rated more
fearful, shy and less sociable by their mothers. By comparison, a group of children who
displayed inhibited behavior at 4 months of age but whose behavior was not consistent over time
(i.e., who were no longer reportedly inhibited at 24 or 48 months of age) did not show such EEG
assymetry. These findings suggest a strong role of brain over-activity in social behavior, namely
anxiety in social situations.
Parental Influences. Other influences on children's inclinations to engage primarily in
social or nonsocial play are parent-child relationships and parenting behaviors. Conceptually,
psychologists have predicted that when insecure anxious-resistant (“C”) children find
themselves in group settings with peers, they should attempt to avoid rejection through the
demonstration of passive, adult-dependent behavior and withdrawal from social interaction
(Renken, Egeland, Marvinney, Sroufe, & Mangelsdorf, 1989; Sroufe & Waters, 1977).
Empirical, support derives from data indicating that infants who experience an anxious-resistant
(C) attachment relationship appear to be socially withdrawn at age seven years (Renken et al.,
1989). Additional support for both concurrent and predictive associations between insecure
attachment and social withdrawal comes from more recent studies (e.g., Booth, Rose-Krasner,
McKinnon, & Rubin, 1994; Rubin, Booth, Rose-Krasnor, & Mills, 1995).
Precursors to social play are also predicted by the parent-child attachment relationship in
infancy. For example, secure attachment status in infancy is predictive in early childhood of
more elaborate play styles, more positive social engagement, and less behavioral inhibition than
insecure attachment relationships (e.g., Burgess, Marshall, Rubin, & Fox, 2003; Rose-Krasner,
12
Rubin, Booth & Coplan, 1996). As well, securely attached 4-year-olds are more likely to engage
peers in social play than their insecurely attached agemates (Booth et al, 1994).
Insofar as parenting styles and behaviors are concerned, authoritative parents (high in
control and warmth) are likely to raise well-adjusted children who are socially responsible and
competent, friendly, cooperative and prosocial with peers (Baumrind, 1967, 1971). In contrast,
authoritarian parents (harsh, coercive, and low in warmth) are likely to have children who are
socially incompetent, aggressive, and/or socially withdrawn (Baumrind, 1967, 1971, 1991;
Dishion, 1990, Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, & Dornbusch, 1991; Mize & Petit, 1997).
More recently, researchers have begun to focus on the role of parental overprotection and
overintrusion (Mills & Rubin, 1998; Rubin et al., 2002; Rubin et al., 2001; Rubin, Nelson,
Hastings, & Asendorpf, 1999). Overprotective parents over-manage situations for their child and
discourage child independence. It is believed that this pattern of parental responses interferes
with children’s abilities to develop their own coping skills for handling socially stressful
situations. As such, such children would be less likely to engage in social play. For example,
Rubin and colleagues (1999) found that maternally-rated child shyness at age 2 was negatively
related to both mother’s and father’s encouragement of independence at age 4, indicating that
parents’ perceptions of their child’s shyness influences their social strategies which may limit the
child’s opportunities to develop coping strategies for their social wariness.
Transactional Processes. Given that both biological and environmental factors influence
children’s social and nonsocial play, the interplay between biological processes and parenting strategies
also warrants investigation. Rubin and colleagues developed a theoretical model that considers pathways
to social/nonsocial play styles and adjustment (or maladjustment) which are jointly influenced by child
13
characteristics, parental socialization practices, and the quality of relationships within and outside the
family (e.g., Rubin & Burgess, 2002; Rubin & Lollis, 1988; Rubin & Mills, 1991).
Results from several recent studies have suggested that these transactional processes are critical
factors in determining peer-related outcomes (Rubin et al., 2002; Rubin et al., 1999; Spangler &
Schieche, 1998). For instance, Spangler and Schieche (1998) found that insecurely attached infants who
were behaviorally inhibited had higher salivary cortisol levels, indicating that it is a combination of
attachment and temperament that leads to changes in physiological stimulation during a novel situation.
Rubin and colleagues (2002) also found an interaction between temperament and parenting in predicting
children’s play behavior. Dispositionally-based behavioral inhibition at two years predicted socially
reticent behavior at four years for only those children whose mothers were overprotective and intrusive.
Developmental outcomes of social and nonsocial play
Social play and adjustment. Returning to our earlier discussion of play, it is of
significant note that social pretense, or sociodramatic play, has generally been regarded as a
marker of social competence, positive adjustment, and well-being during the period of early
childhood (e.g., Howes, 1992, Rubin et al., 1983; Rubin et al., 1998). The frequent production of
sociodramatic play during the preschool and kindergarten years is associated with the
development of language skills, early literacy, creativity, theory of mind, self-regulation, and
school achievement (e.g., Elias & Berk, 1993; Levy, Wolfgang, & Koorland, 1992; Schwebel,
Rosen, & Singer, 1999; Singer & Lythcott, 2002)
There have been relatively few longitudinal studies of the developmental course of
children's social play, broadly defined. An exception to this was the Waterloo Longitudinal
Project (WLP), initiated originally in 1980 to examine the stability and predictive outcomes of
14
children’s social and nonsocial play (e.g., Rubin, 1982, 1985; Rubin et al., 1989; Rubin, Hymel,
Mills, & Rose-Krasner, 1991; Rubin, Chen, & Hymel, 1993; Rubin et al., 1995).
Results from the WLP indicated that social play is relatively stable from preschool
through to adolescence (e.g., Rubin, 1993; Rubin & Both, 1989; Rubin et al., 1989). Moreover,
observed social play in early childhood predicted positive feelings of self worth and was
negatively associated with feelings of loneliness in late chidhood (e.g., Rubin et al., 1989).
Similar results were found following the participants into adolescence. Rubin and colleagues
(1995) followed a sample of children from the WLP into high school (age 14 years). Results
indicated that an aggregate of observed social play and peer rated social competence at age 7
years significantly predicted higher self regard and felt group security, and lower self-reported
loneliness in adolescence.
Overall, social play is generally associated with social adjustment. However, there is
some evidence to suggest that the frequent display of social play, in and of itself, does not
"guarantee" social adjustment. For example, Rubin et al. (1995) found that social play in early
childhood was not only predictive of positive outcomes in adolescence, but also predicted
deviant behaviors (i.e., drug and alcohol use).
Children’s emotion regulation appears to play a key role here. Whereas the ability to
regulate negative emotions is related to social competence and peer acceptance (e.g., Eisenberg,
Spinrad, Fabes, Reiser, et al., 2004; Eisenberg, Pidada, & Liew, 2001) the inability to regulate
affect is associated with socially incompetent behavior (e.g., Calkins, Gill, Johnson, & Smith,
1999). More specifically, Rubin, Coplan, Fox, and Calkins (1995) found that an extreme group
of socially interactive preschoolers who were also emotionally dysregulated (i.e.,
temperamentally highly reactive and difficult to soothe), were rated by mothers as having more
15
externalizing problems than comparison groups of extremely socially-interactive but wellregulated children and average children. Thus, not all young children who display a high
frequency of social play grow up to be competent, well adjusted, teenagers.
Nonsocial play and adjustment. It had been previously accepted that noninteractive
children are at risk for later maladjustment difficulties in later childhood and adolescence (see
Rubin, Burgess, Kennedy, & Stewart, 2003, for a review). However, results from recent research
indicate that the relations between nonsocial play types and psychosocial adjustment in
childhood are quite complex. In fact, different forms of nonsocial play appear to reflect different
underlying psychological mechanisms, and are associated with decidedly difference outcomes.
To begin with, reticent behavior (i.e., onlooking behaviors and being unoccupied) is
thought to indicate temperamental shyness and social fearfulness (e.g., Coplan et al., 1994). A
child frequently displaying reticent behavior is thought to be caught in an approach-avoidance
conflict (Asendorpf, 1990), wanting to engage in social interactions with peers but
simultaneoulsy desiring to avoid others because of a fear of social interaction.
There is strong emprirical support for this conceptualization. To begin with, the display
of reticent behavior in childhood has been related a constellation of psychophysiological
variables (e.g., greater right frontal EEG activation, higher levels of morning cortisol) that
similarly underlie the construct of behavioral inhibition (e.g., Henderson et al., 2004; Schmidt,
Fox, Rubin, & Sternberg, 1997). Moreover, reticent behavior in childhood has also been
associated with temperamental shyness, the overt display of anxious behaviors, internalizing
problems, social incompetence, low self-worth, and peer exclusion (Coplan, 2000; Coplan,
Findlay, & Nelson, 2004; Coplan et al., 1994; Coplan et al., 2001; Coplan et al., 2004; Coplan &
16
Rubin, 1998; Fox et al., 2001; Hart et al., 2000; Henderson et al., 2004; Rubin et al., 2002; Rubin
et al., 1995).
In constrast, solitary-active play (i.e., solitary-functional and solitary-dramatic play) is
thought to reflect social immaturity and impulsiveness (Rubin, 1982). Although it occurs rather
infrequently during free play (approximately 3% of the time), Rubin (1982) speculated that
solitary-active behavior is quite negatively salient to the peer group, even in early childhood, and
that children who engage in solitary-active behaviors are actually playing along because they are
being isolated by others. In support of this notion, solitary-active behavior in childhood has been
associated with peer rejection, poor social problem-solving, impulsivity, externalizing problems,
and academic difficulties (Coplan, 2000; Coplan et al., 1994; Coplan, Wichmann, & LagaceSeguin, 2001; Coplan & Rubin, 1998; Rubin, 1982).
It is interesting to note here is that the same structural form of social play can have very
different meanings when displayed in different contexts. Thus, as mentioned earlier, although
sociodramatic play (group pretense) is generally viewed as a index of social competence and
social adjustment, solitary-dramatic behavior, in the presence of peers, appears to reflect
impulsivity and social immaturity; it is also associated with externalizing (or acting-out)
problems in early childhood.
Finally, solitary-passive play (i.e., solitary-exploratory and solitary-constructive play) has
been generally thought to reflect unsociability, or a preference for playing alone (Rubin &
Asendorpf, 1993). Children who frequently display solitary-passive behaviors are thought to
possess the necessary skills to interact socially, but not to evidence a strong desire for peer play
(Rubin, 1982). Empirical support for this characterization came from a series of studies
indicating that solitary-passive behavior (in early childhood) was not associated with indices of
17
psychosocial maladaptation (e.g., Coplan, 2000; Coplan et al., 1994; Coplan & Rubin, 1998;
Rubin, 1982; Rubin et al., 1995).
However, results from recent studies have called into question the meaning of solitarypassive play in early childhood (e.g., Lloyd & Howe, 2003; Spinrad et al., 2004). For example,
Coplan and colleagues (2001) reported that observed solitary-passive play in kindergarteners
was associated with temperamental shyness and indices of maladjustment for boys but not girls.
Coplan and colleagues (2004) found that although children rated as unsociable were less often
observed to initiate social interactions with peers and were viewed by teachers as more socially
withdrawn, they were not significantly more likely to display solitary-passive behavior.
Thus, there is evidence to suggest that solitary-passive play itself may have varying
psychological and emotional meanings, and may be frequently displayed by different types of
children for different reasons. Direct evidence for this has been provided by Henderson et al.
(2004). In a longitudinal study, they found that a subset of preschool children who displayed
frequent solitary-passive play had lower resting heart period and were more likely to have been
shy and inhibited when they were toddlers. This suggests that some children who frequently
displayed solitary-passive behavior tended to be shy, but coped sufficiently with their approachavoidance conflicts in order to at least play quietly in the presence of peers. In contrast, other
children who frequently displayed solitary-passive play had a higher resting heart period and
were neither previously shy nor inhibited as toddlers. Thus, some children who display frequent
solitary-passive play do not appear to be anxious or distressed. Further research is clearly
required in this area, particularly to explore the long term longitudinal outcomes associated with
this type of nonsocial play.
Summary and Future Directions
18
The goal of this essay was to explore the constructs of young children's social and
nonsocial play within the context of peer interactions. Clearly, social play provides children with
a unique and important environment for development. Through social play and associated
interactions with peers, children are exposed to a domain where they can acquire important
social-cognitive and interpersonal skills. Social play allows children to acquire an understanding
of other children's perspectives, and leads to a greater understanding of cooperation, negotiation,
and conflict resolution. Moreover, children who experience a consistently impoverished quality
of social play and social interaction are at risk for later social maladjustment. Thus, social play
can be construed as representing a "safe-haven" for children to learn about themselves and
others, and to acquire skills and knowledge that will assist them throughout their lifetimes.
In contrast, the different forms of nonsocial play appear to have different meanings and
are associated with different outcomes. Some children appear to play alone (displaying reticent
behavior) because they are shy and anxious, lacking in social competence, and experiencing
internalizing problems. Other children seem to play alone (displaying solitary-active behavior)
because they are immature, impulsive, and excluded by peers, and display externalizing
problems. Finally, although some children likely play alone because of a lack of interest in social
interaction, such children may not display a particular type of nonsocial play.
Additional longitudinal work should explore the meanings and implications of social and
nosocial play into middle childhood and adolescence. Moreover, a deeper understanding is
required of the role of children’s relationships (i.e., with parents and peers) in the developmental
trajectories associated with the frequent display of social or nonsocial play. Finally, the vast
majority of research related to social and nonsocial play has been conducted in Western cultures.
19
There is likely significant cultural variation in the meanings of different forms of solitude. Thus,
there are many avenues for future researchers to explore related to the nature and outcomes of
20
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Sample of Play Observation Scale Coding Sheet
Name of Child:_________________
Age___
Time Sample
:10
:20
:30
:40
:50
:60
uncodable_______________________________________________________________________
out of room_____________________________________________________________________
transitional_____________________________________________________________________
unoccupied______________________________________________________________________
onlooker_______________________________________________________________________
Solitary Behaviors:
Occupied_________________________________________________________________
Constructive______________________________________________________________
Exploratory_______________________________________________________________
Functional________________________________________________________________
Dramatic_________________________________________________________________
Games___________________________________________________________________
Parallel Behaviors:
Occupied________________________________________________________________
Constructive_____________________________________________________________
Exploratory______________________________________________________________
Functional_______________________________________________________________
Dramatic________________________________________________________________
Games__________________________________________________________________
Group Behaviors:
Occupied_________________________________________________________________
Constructive______________________________________________________________
Exploratory_______________________________________________________________
Functional________________________________________________________________
Dramatic_________________________________________________________________
Games___________________________________________________________________
Peer Conversation__________________________________________________________________
Double Coded Behaviors:
AnxiousBehaviors___________________________________________________________
Hovering__________________________________________________________________
Aggression________________________________________________________________
Rough-and-Tumble__________________________________________________________
Conversation/Interacting With: 1_______ 2_______ 3_______ 4________ 5_________ 6_________
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