Metacommunication in social pretend play: two dimensions

Abstract

Research suggests that metacommunication in young children’s social pretend play is the most complex form of cooperation. In this study, metacommunication was examined using audio and video recordings during pretend play. Participants were 24 children in kindergarten average age 5.1 years. Utterances were coded for metacommunication, the narrative content and the social dimension of cooperation. Results show that while the use of metacommunication correlates with the complexity of the narrative, it does not correlate with the complexity of the social dimension. Implications for supporting metacommunication in social pretend play by teachers are discussed.