The Relationship Between Symbolic Play and Executive Function in Young Children (Report‪)‬

Introduction As children develop, their play becomes more flexible and creative. It evolves from the exploration of the sensory properties of objects to simple repetitive play, to relational and constructive play with objects, to functional play, and finally to play that is symbolic in nature (Jordan, 2003; Piaget, 1962; Smilansky, 1968). In the study reported here, we explored the possibility that the emergence of symbolic play is related to the development of executive functions, which may account for its increasingly creative and flexible nature.