Effects of spatial scale on play and language behaviors of preschool children

The differences between the length and complexity of preschoolers' play and language behaviors in normal and reduced scale environments were investigated. Sixteen normally developing preschool children were observed interacting in normal and reduced scale environments. The play and language behaviors of the subjects were video and audio tape recorded. The play behaviors were elicited in a free play paradigm. These behaviors were measured for length and complexity of play as measured by the Play Observation Scale (Rubin, 1989). The language behaviors were elicited in a structured storytelling paradigm. These behaviors were transcribed and analyzed by the Length-Complexity Index (Miner, 1969). These play and language behaviors were observed in both the Full-Scale and Reduced-Scale environments. Changes in the length and complexity of the play and language behaviors between the normal and reduced scale environments were compared using analyses of variance. Significant increases in length and complexity of play and language behaviors were observed to exist in the Reduced-Scale environment. Thus, the subjects' perceptions of the environmental scale were associated with alterations in behaviors, with longer and more complex play and language behaviors occurring within the Reduced-Scale environment.