1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The primary goal of Study 1 was the development of the Relational Play Category Coding Scheme which consisted of dyadic and triadic play categories occuring between mother and infant aged 4 to 7 months» (pp. 32-33)
« The second general objective addressed in the present research was to examined infants’ nonverbal communication during play. » p. (34)
Questions/Hypothèses :
For study 1:
« Objective 1 of the present study, to delineate contexts of play emerging in caother-infant play between the ages of 4 to 7 months, was achieved through the development of the Relational Play Category Coding Scheme. Once developed, the Relational Play Category Coding Scheme was applied to a longitudinal sample of mothers and infants in Study 1 in order to examine developmental changes in durations of time spent in the different play categories. The second objective of Study 1 was to examine the period of transition between dyadic and triadic play. As previously outlined, it was expected that in the free play context where toys were available for dyads to use as they wished, dyadic play would decrease and triadic play would increase between 4 to 7 months, thus corroborating previous research.
Objective 3 was to examine developmental changes in the organization and structure of triadic play. Hypotheses regarding developmental change for each of the five triadic play categories (i.e.. Functional. Social. Developmental, Supported, and Mother onlooking play) will be outlined in turn. Where previous literature supported a prediction of developmental change based on age, a specific hypothesis was proposed. The play categories outlined in the present scheme had not yet been applied and examined developmentally. As a result, no prediction was made regarding the direction of developmental change for some of the play categories. » pp. (48-49)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
1st study: 22 infants (10 female, 12 male)
2nd study: 58 infants (30 female, 28 male)

Instruments :
« A video timer [...] was used to record a time line on each videotaped session in order to permit precise calculation of occurences of each dependent mesures in minutes and seconds. » (p. 88)
Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique et analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

« As infants become more interested in their nonsocial surroundings, triadic play, where a toy is added to infants’ play with their caregivers, becomes an increasingly frequent play context. Yet, little is known about the emergence of triadic play within the first year of life. Identifying the play contexts in which infants participate is integral to understanding the processes by which infants develop into increasingly competent social beings. The present research consisted of two studies. In Study 1, the Relational Play Category Coding Scheme was developed to delineate characteristic bouts of triadic play occurring between mothers and their infants aged 4 to 7 months. Five different triadic play categories were identified. The coding scheme was applied to a sample of mothers and their infants in Study 1 who participated in a longitudinal study of free play when their infants were 4, 5 ½, and 7 months of age. The Relational Play Category Coding Scheme was then applied to a cross-sectional (Study 2a) and a longitudinal sample (Study 2b) of mothers and their infants at 4 and 7 months within the face-to-face play context. Play context was further explored by including type of toy (social or functional) as a variable in Study 2. In addition, infants’ gazing and smiling behaviors during dyadic and triadic play were examined. Results from the application of the Relational Play Category Coding Scheme from both studies converged, to suggest the mutual influence of mother and infant on the context of early play interactions, whereby the content of play was modified with infants’ development. Infants were more autonomous in toy play with age; mothers provided fewer demonstrations of the toys and used fewer physical interventions with older infants. In addition, results from Study 2 indicated the powerful influence of play context on infants’ communicative development. Infants’ nonverbal communicative behavior did not differ as a function of infant age during dyadic play, but it did differ during triadic play. Seven-month-olds were found to gaze more toward their mothers faces and displayed higher levels of smiling than the 4-month-olds when the social and social/functional toys were used. It was during the periods that the social and social/functional toys were used that the highest levels of Social play were also found to occur. Thus, at 7 months, it appears that infants were more responsive to triadic play with certain toys and engaged with their mothers to a greater degree as measured by infant gazing and smiling. The different triadic play contexts within which mothers and infants engaged, as well as the communicative contexts promoted by the use of different toys, underscores the diverse learning opportunities available to infants during triadic play. Implications for the development of communication and play in infancy are discussed. » (p. iii)