Play and Abstract Thought

In PLAY children learn to think abstractly!

“Through play the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world which is a critical feature in the development of all higher mental functions.” – Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky believed that in play, “thought becomes separated from objects” (a stick becomes a horse) and “action begins to be driven by meaning and ideas, not by the objects” (play is driven by the meaning of a horse not the stick).  The ability to separate the meaning of horse from a real horse, transfer it to a stick, and really act with the stick as if it were a horse is a crucial transitional stage toward the POWER of abstract thought, a giant leap forward in cognitive development.

In play, children unconsciously and spontaneously make use of the fact that they can separate meaning from an object without knowing they are doing it.  For example, children first separate meaning from objects when they play with a stick like a horse.   Unconsciously they are exploring metaphor and simile.  As this knowledge is internalized they acquire language and abstract thought (the ability to understand how “love is like a red rose”) because they already unconsciously learned that a stick is like a horse. 

When my daughter was five, we played the game “adult talk.”  We sat on the porch and had “grown-up” conversations – discussing the weather, the kids, the family, the job according to the rules of how grown-ups talk.  She would also ask me if I had any high-interest credit card debt or whether I had any stubborn belly fat (sometimes what they learn is TAUGHT, sometimes it is just CAUGHT, in this case from TV).  She was unconsciously making use of the knowledge of speaking formally, acting like an adult and having a grown-up conversation. She did not know that she was learning to speak in prose (formal, ordinary written language) – but she was. 

Adult life begins in imagination. Play is fertile ground for the development of imagination, but these days there is little time for exercising the imagination, fantasy, or creativity – the mental tools required for success in higher-level math and science (Elkind, 2007)  Piaget said, “Play is the answer to the question, How does anything new ever come about?”  Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”  Thomas Edison said, “To be a great inventor, all you need is a good imagination and a pile of junk.  When the greatest minds and inventors of our time were asked, “How did you think of that?”  They often respond, “Well I was in my lab PLAYING, when I had a thought…”  Children practice their thoughts in play.   Through play children learn how to think!