Contemporary psychology, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2004.
Review article
Can symbolic play be an indicator of early development of metacognition?
Mrijana Duran
Abstract
There are serious conceptual problems to scientifically determine metacognition. There are three groups of metacognitive phenomena in literature: metacognitive experience, knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. In developmental psychology metacognition is usually connected with later childhood.
An important element of symbolic play, together with awareness of imaginaiton, is that transformed reality, i.e., personal illusion, is shared with others and communicated at the same time (communication of a transformed meaning), which also includes sharing one's own inner world with others. This requires existence of familiarisation with mental states of others and of self, as well as metacommunication (communication about communication) which are inherently metcognitive phenomena.
Having accepted the thesis that the awareness of personal cognitive processes is being constantly developed, this paper discusses the existence of some forerunners of metacognition in symbolic play and further suggests the beginning of reflective self-conscience to be connected with the emergence of symbolic function.
The development of metacognition is looked upon as a gradual intellectualisation of function connected with cognitive development. Every "as if" act in symbolic play contains: awareness of imagination and intentionality of representation. The awareness of imagination of symbolic representation belongs to the awareness of personal mental functions, while intentionality of representation belongs to volition, which refers to mental functions. Therefore, it is our belief that the beginnings of semiotic behaviour show traces of the first forerunners of metacognition.
Keywords
Cognitive development; metacognition; symbolic play
Hrčak ID:
3251
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2004.
Visits: 3.020 *