Make believe - Wikipedia
Make believe, also known as pretend play or imaginative play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior.[ 1] What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and creative aspect rather than being an action performed for the sake of survival or necessity.[ 2] Children engage in make believe for a number of reasons. It provides the child with a safe setting to express fears and desires.[ 3] When children participate in pretend play, they are integrating and strengthening previously acquired knowledge.[ 1] Children who have better pretense and fantasy abilities also show better social competence, cognitive capabilities, and an ability to take the perspective of others.[ 2] In order for the activity to be referred to as pretend play, the individual must be intentionally diverting from reality. The individual must be aware of the contrast between the real situation and the make believe situation.[ 2] If the child believes that the make believe situation is reality, then they are misinterpreting the situation rather than pretending. Pretend may or may not include action, depending on whether the child chooses to project their imagination onto reality or not.[ 4]
The interest in pretend play advanced through three significant stages, though it has likely existed since the dawn of humanity, as children tend to do this naturally on their own, without coercion, or needing a term to describe what they are doing. The initial stage was during the 1920s and 1930s when research in play had gained popularity. During this time, there were little or no empirical findings specifically about pretend play. A revival of interest starting in the late 1940s signified the second stage. The new mission was to find how pretend play related to the developing personality of a child. A common hypothesis during this period was that pretend behavior projected a child's inner feelings and reflected their experiences in their everyday lives. The most recent stage, which persists until today, began in the 1970s. Research in this stage is greatly influenced by Jean Piaget's studies and theories, either in terms of finding evidence to support it or to falsify it.[ 1] Despite the cultural jargon on the issue, the history of playing make believe may indeed have originated at the dawn on consciousness, itself.[citation needed ]
