Decentration and Integration of the Child's Play in the Second Year

FENSON, LARRY, and RAMSAY, DOUGLAS S. Decentration and Integration of the Child's Play in the Second Year. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1980, 51, 171-178. 2 studies, 1 cross-sectional and 1 longitudinal, examined the relation between 2 developmental trends in play during the second year: the emergence of decentered acts, and the integration of separate acts into simple sequences. In both studies, infants were tested at 13, 19, and 24 months of age. Decentered acts directed toward inanimate as well as animate or lifelike objects had appeared for most children by 19 months. Sequences resulting from the repetition of a single theme generally emerged concurrently with the decentration measures. In contrast, sequences resulting from the coordination of 2 different acts did not emerge for most children until 24 months. It was suggested that the latter type of sequence may require an additional cognitive skill, specifically, the ability to mentally relate 2 different actions.