Does children's play and associated neural activity differ according to individual differences in social skills, social understanding, and social contexts?

Play is a major part of children’s lives that takes many different forms and presents differently within and between individuals. However, little research has compared how individual differences in children’s play are evidenced in joint play versus solo play contexts, and how these are related to children’s social behaviors and the neural mechanisms underlying these differences. Fifty-seven 4-to-8-year-olds (Mean age: 6.72 years; 93 % White; 52.6 % male) freely played with dolls alone and with an experimenter. Children’s play behavior (pretend vs. set up; doll vs. non-doll toys) and internal state language (ISL) were measured and neuroimaging captured activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Parents reported on children’s social behaviors and theory of mind. We found children engaged in pretend play more and used more ISL in joint play compared to solo play. Both the use of ISL and pretend play were positively related to aspects of their social abilities, but only ISL was found to be associated with neural activity. • We explored how 4–8-year-old children’s play varied depending on social context. • We also explored how play was related to social abilities and neural activity. • Children spent most of their time setting up toys compared to pretending. • Children pretended more in joint play, and this linked to their social abilities.