Role Play Toys and Play Figures: How Is Their Preference Related to Executive Function in Children Aged 4 to 7 Years?

Background. The developmental potential of play in the context of mental development of preschool children is recognized by almost all specialists in the field. However, the lack of common understanding of play and the variety of proposed classifications of play types make them currently poorly comparable, complicating significantly further clarification of scientific data on the influence of specific aspects of play activity on the indicators of children’s development. Objective. The study was aimed at examining the preferences of preschool children in different age groups when choosing between role play toys and play figures, as well as the potential impact of the preferred type of play on the development of executive functions. Study Participants. The study involved 180 children aged 4 to 7 years (M = 5.96 years; SD = 0.69). Methods. Toy preferences for role-playing or directing play were revealed in an experimental paradigm using the forced-choice experimental paradigm. Executive functions were assessed with a set of neuropsychological tests. Results. It was shown that 4–5-year-old children were significantly more likely to choose role play toys, and 6–7-year-old children chose to play figures. When controlling for gender and age, preference for play figures was significantly associated with higher visual-spatial working memory scores. Conclusions. The developmental potential of directing play with figures can be seen as higher for the development of visual-spatial working memory as compared to the potential of the role-play.