“This Is Spiderman's Mask.” “No, It's Green Goblin's”: Shared Meanings During Boys' Pretend Play With Superhero and Generic Toys

Abstract

Preschool boys' pretense and coconstruction of shared meanings during two play sessions (superhero and generic toys) were investigated with 58 middle-class boys (M age = 54.95 mos.). The frequency of dyadic pretense and the coconstruction of shared meanings in the play were coded. The frequency of pretense did not vary across the two play sessions. There were significantly more prosocial behaviors, clarifications, and explanations during the superhero session, whereas there were more disruptive behaviors in the generic toy session. Thus, both types of play materials required boys to coconstruct shared meanings, and neither detracted from the ability to generate pretense narratives. The patterns of associations across and within the two play sessions demonstrated a high degree of consistency, as well as some interesting patterns unique to the two sessions. Findings are discussed in light of recent literature.