The concept of open functions was introduced to capture an intended feature van Eyck’s seminal play sculptures – they do not suggest a specific action. In recent study, Van der Schaaf, A. L., S. R. Caljouw, and Withagen. (2020. “Are Children Attracted Play Elements with Open Function?” Ecological Psychology 32: 79–94) aimed determine the degree openness Parkour elements by asking participants w...

This paper focuses on non-directive play therapy with maltreated and neglected young children, and explores ways in which their symbolic play seems to be activated and accelerated during play therapy. The frameworks of attachment and cognitive development are utilized to examine therapeutic relationships. Examples from normal development and from therapeutic work are given in order to describe ...

In this paper we present the interactive play environment GlowSteps. GlowSteps consists of ten flexible tiles that respond with light feedback on player’s actions. The play environment is developed to support both social and physical play and is designed with the intention to encourage children to create their own play and games. The tiles can be programmed with different interaction behaviors ...

Can children of all age groups engage in self-directed learning? While active learning has been widely advocated in education, it remains unclear whether its benefits apply to children at all developmental levels. In the present study, we demonstrate that 19-month-old toddlers acquire higher-order generalizations in the causal domain only when their play is facilitated by an adult experimenter ...

It has been almost a decade since Gareth Schott and Kirsty Horell wrote their article "Girl Gamers and their Relationship with the Gaming Culture" in the 'Winter 2000' issue of Convergence. According to the abstract and introduction to the article, their goal was to " …focus upon the experiences and attitudes of females who already view themselves as 'gamers' " [36]. However, as the article dev...