Within Cultural Differences

Abstract

Individual differences in 30 Korean American and 30 European American preschoolers’ play behavior were examined to understand how intracultural variations in children’s skills and behavioral characteristics may be associated with social pretend play in early childhood. Observers recorded the children’s social behaviors and play complexity. Teachers rated children’s social behavior, parents completed a child rearing questionnaire, and children were given the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and the Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure. The findings showed that there were similar patterns predictive of pretend play for both groups. Overall, children’s interactive style, positive social interaction with peers, and creativity scores significantly predicted pretend play. The results suggest that individual factors related to pretend play transcend culture.