A team of researchers from Cardiff University has used neuroscience for the first time to explore the impact doll play has on children. In an 18-month study, the team monitored the brain activity of 33 children, aged between four and eight, as they played with dolls. They found that doll play activated parts of the brain that allow children to develop empathy and social information processing skills, even when they were playing alone. They saw far less activation of this part of the brain when the children played with tablet computers on their own. Researchers used an emerging neuroimaging technology called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to scan brain activity while the children moved freely around. They found that the pSTS, a region of the brain associated with social information processing such as empathy, was activated even when children played with dolls on their own, regardless of gender. Dolls encourage them to create their own little imaginary worlds, as opposed to say, problem-solving or building games. They encourage children to think about other people and how they might interact with each other.
In the study the play was split into different sections so the Cardiff team could capture the brain activity relating to each kind of play separately – playing with the dolls on their own; playing with the dolls together with a research assistant; playing with the tablet game on their own and playing with the tablet game along with a research assistant. They found that doll play activated parts of the brain that allow children to develop empathy and social information processing skills, even when they were playing alone. Image is credited to Cardiff University. The dolls used included a diverse range of Barbies and sets. Tablet play was carried out using games that allow children to engage with open and creative play (rather than a rule or goal-based games) to provide a similar play experience to doll play. The study found that when children played alone with dolls, they showed the same levels of activation of the pSTS as they do when playing with others. When the children were left to play tablet games on their own there was far less activation of the pSTS, even though the games involved a considerable creative element.
More information: