How A New Study Shows Benefits Of Doll Play Through Neuroscience

Mattel, Inc. announced yesterday that Barbie and a team of neuroscientists at Cardiff University have released the latest findings from a multi-year study exploring the doll play’s short and long-term developmental impact.

In Fall 2020, Cardiff University and Barbie unveiled the first-year results of the study, Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play through Neuroscience, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

In the study’s second year, researchers investigated the importance of what kids say, and they discovered that children use increased language about others’ thoughts and emotions when playing alone with dolls.

The results of this research, titled Doll Play Prompts Social Thinking and Social Talking: Representations of the Internal State Language in the Brain, was published in Developmental Science in 2021 by Dr. Sarah Gerson and colleagues at Cardiff University’s Centre for Human Developmental Science, UK, as well as colleagues at Kings College London.

A recent Harvard study found that 61% of parents reported that the pandemic had negatively impacted their child’s social-emotional development. So discovering doll play can positively impact children may be particularly beneficial at this delicate time.

The latest research found children talked more about others’ thoughts and emotions, a concept is known as internal state language (ISL), when playing with dolls than while playing tablet games. Speaking about others’ internal states allows children to practice social skills when interacting with people in the real world and potentially benefits their overall emotional development.

An Overview of The Study

This study is the first body of research that used neuroscience to explore the short-term and long-term developmental impacts of doll play, and new stages of the research are being conducted through 2024.

“When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalize the message about others’ thoughts, emotions, and feelings,” shared Gerson. “This can have long-lasting positive effects on children, such as driving higher rates of social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy that can become internalized to build and form lifelong habits.”

Now in its second year, Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play through Neuroscience shows scientific evidence that:

• This form of pretend play showed signs of internal state language (ISL). This means that when children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalize as they get older about others’ thoughts, emotions, and perspectives – putting themselves in the shoes of others.
•  Though children may have experienced reduced cognitive and social stimulation outside of their homes over the past 22 months, doll play offers the opportunity for kids to emulate scenes and interactions from their daily lives.
• These new timely findings reinforce that kids can practice key social skills and language about others’ thoughts and emotions through doll play, even when playing alone.

The Importance of Internal State Language

The study was conducted with 33 boys and girls aged 4-8 years old. During the observation of these children, researchers saw increased brain activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) region when they spoke as though their dolls had thoughts and feelings.

The pSTS region is heavily involved in developing social and emotional processing skills, further supporting year one findings that even when children play by themselves with dolls, it can help build vital social skills like empathy.

Researchers used state-of-the-art functional, near-infrared spectroscopy equipment to explore the activation of the brain. At the same time, children played with dolls and on tablets, both by themselves and with another person. The researchers found playing with dolls prompted more ISL about others than playing with tablet games, and using ISL about others was related to increased pSTS activation.

“Internal state language can indicate that a child is thinking about other people’s thoughts and emotions while playing with dolls,” explained Gerson. “These skills are really important for interacting with other people, learning from other people, and navigating a variety of social situations. It becomes important for making and sustaining friendships, and how they learn from their teachers and parents.”

Empathy and social processing skills appear to be highly valued by parents and essential as children grow emotionally, academically, and socially.

In 2020, Barbie independently commissioned a global survey in 22 countries questioning 15,000 parents of children aged 3-10 years old. The findings suggested 91% of parents ranked empathy as a key social skill they would like their child to develop. Still, only 26% knew that doll play could help their child develop these crucial skills. Parents and caregivers have also been increasingly concerned over their children’s developmental track during the last two years.

For example, 61% of parents reported that the pandemic had negatively impacted their child’s social-emotional development.

While cognitive and social stimulation outside of homes has been limited due to the pandemic, the Cardiff University research suggests that doll play can offer kids the opportunity to emulate scenes and interactions from their daily lives.

Children mimic what they see their parents, teachers, or peers say and do, and dolls can give them an outlet to recreate what they’ve seen and heard to rehearse skills they can use in real-life social situations.

The research also suggests that these findings are gender agnostic – revealing the vast critical importance of doll play in practicing social skills.

“We’re proud that when children play out stories with Barbie and vocalize their thoughts, emotions, they may be building crucial social skills, like empathy, that give them the tools needed to be confident, inclusive adults,” said Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls, Mattel. “As leaders in the dolls category, we look forward to uncovering even more benefits of doll play, grounded in neuroscience, through our long-term partnership with Cardiff University.”

Parents and caregivers can visit Barbie.com/Benefits to learn more about the research and access resources.