Preschoolers' pretend play affect themes predict future behaviors, study finds.
Children who express prosocial and aggressive emotions during pretend play are likely to exhibit similar behaviors in real-life situations two years later. This means that how kids act in pretend scenarios can give insight into their future actions. The study involved 250 preschoolers and found that their play themes were linked to their behaviors in a lab setting, but not necessarily in school. These findings show that emotions expressed during play can impact children's social development and behavior over time.