Class, culture, and pretend play: A reply to Sutton-Smith and Smith

Abstract

It is suggested that the early studies which Sutton-Smith cites as additional support for the claim that low-income and working-class children engage in less sociodramatic and pretend play are only tangentially, if at all, related to the issue of pretend play and should, therefore, be discounted in the current dispute. High levels of physical activity are not necessarily indicative of low levels of symbolic activity. Observations in an array of settings may permit us to distinguish between children's "typical" and "best" displays of pretend behavior and determine whether there are social class differences in both symbolic competence and performance. Equally as important as further comparative, descriptive work are theoretically grounded efforts to understand pretend play, as well as other types of imaginative behavior, within the context of the instrumental competences deemed necessary for success in the child's social and cultural milieu.