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ELDER, JOY L., and PEDERSON, DAVD R. Preschool Children's Use of Objects in Symbolic Play. CGrme DEVELOPMENT, 1978, 49, 500-504. Developmental differences in children's reliance on the presence of a substitute object and in the importance of similarity between the substitute object and its referent were investigated. Children at 3 age levels (2%, 3, and 312 years of age) were asked to perform actions under 1 of 3 substitution conditions: (1) with similar substitute objects whose general physical dimensions were similar to those of the reference objects; (2) with dissimilar substitute objects, which were physically unlike the referent objects and had their own particular use; or (3) with no object present. The results indicated that children under 3 years of age were most dependent on the presence of substitute objects which resembled their referents. 3%-year-old children were able to pretend equally well in all of the substitution conditions.
Elder et al. (1978) studied this question.