Effects of Realistic and Unrealistic Props on Symbolic Play

This chapter examines the role of abstract unrealistic prop imagery, compared to concrete realistic prop imagery as components of a symbolic play lesson. It discusses the different effects of using unrealistic as opposed to realistic props in facilitating verbal recall of a story, sequential recall of a story using pictures, and divergent thinking. The chapter also examines the different effects of the two-prop conditions on the subjects' behavior during the rehearsal. The two hypotheses of concern were: the rehearsal treatment employing the unrealistic props will prove superior in facilitating performance on the dependent variables to the rehearsal treatment employing the realistic props; and the quality of subject's symbolic play performance during the rehearsal period would be predictive of his performance on the subsequent dependent variable tasks. The chapter examines three dependent variables: simple verbal recall, sequential recall using pictures depicting story events, and divergent problem solving.