In Defense of the Play-Creativity Hypothesis

The hypothesis that pretend play facilitates the creative thought process in children has received a great deal of attention. In a literature review, Lillard et al. (2013, p. 8) concluded that the evidence for this hypothesis was “not convincing.” This article focuses on experimental and training studies that have tested this hypothesis. As categorized by Lillard et al., the majority of these studies failed to find evidence for the hypothesis. Furthermore, they contend that several of the studies that found evidence for the hypothesis were flawed either methodologically or statistically. This review of the evidence relative to this hypothesis included a larger number of studies, and, more important, screened studies for statistical power. The conclusion reached is that that the hypothesis is likely true. Additionally, it is shown that Lillard et al.’s criticisms of the studies that found evidence for the hypothesis do not stand up on close examination