Doll Play Improves Social Processing: Evidence from a Randomized-Control Trial

Play is often described as a child’s “occupation,” both because young children spend the majority of their time playing when given the option, and because it is a critical mechanism through which children learn both cognitive and socio-emotional skills. In a randomized control trial (N = 73), we found the first causal evidence that doll play, more so than creative tablet play, improves theory of mind in 4- to 8-year-old children following a month-long play intervention. Improvements in theory of mind were particularly strong for children who had more parent-reported peer problems. Diaries of play during the intervention indicated that children were more likely to play socially with dolls than socially with tablets. Together, this shows that doll play may be a particularly suitable play pattern for practicing and improving social skills like theory of mind by both encouraging social interaction and practicing these skills outside of peer interactions.