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Journal Article

The relationship between symbolic play and language acquisition: A meta-analytic review

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Kidd,  Evan
Language Development Department, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society;
The Australian National University;
ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language;
Learning through Processing, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society;

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Quinn_Donnelly_Kidd_2018.pdf
(Publisher version), 781KB

Supplementary Material (public)

Quinn_Donnelly_Kidd_2018sup.docx
(Supplementary material), 35KB

Citation

Quinn, S., Donnelly, S., & Kidd, E. (2018). The relationship between symbolic play and language acquisition: A meta-analytic review. Developmental Review. Advance online publication. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2018.05.005.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0001-7E93-C
Abstract
A developmental relationship between symbolic play and language has been long proposed, going as far back as the writings of Piaget and Vygotsky. In the current paper we build on recent qualitative reviews of the literature by reporting the first quantitative analysis of the relationship. We conducted a three-level meta-analysis of past studies that have investigated the relationship between symbolic play and language acquisition. Thirty-five studies (N = 6848) met the criteria for inclusion. Overall, we observed a significant small-to-medium association between the two domains (r = .35). Several moderating variables were included in the analyses, including: (i) study design (longitudinal, concurrent), (ii) the manner in which language was measured (comprehension, production), and (iii) the age at which this relationship is measured. The effect was weakly moderated by these three variables, but overall the association was robust, suggesting that symbolic play and language are closely related in development.