Previous research suggests a link between pretense and the creative behavior of children, such as associative fluency. Most results show that children who engaged in pretense prior to an associative fluency task gave more nonstandard uses for play objects than children who engaged in imitation play or coloring. However, the effect of pretense play on other forms of creativity has not been extensively researched. One such form of creativity is storytelling.
The present study examined the relationship between pretense and storytelling. It was hypothesized that the stories a child tells after engaging in pretense play would be ranked and rated by experts as more creative than the stories told after engaging in non-pretense activities. Teachers were used as subjective judges of creativity. The results of two experiments suggest that engaging in pretense play prior to storytelling does not lead to more creative stories. Suggestions for future research are given.
","abstract_html":"<p>Previous research suggests a link between pretense and the creative behavior of children, such as associative fluency. Most results show that children who engaged in pretense prior to an associative fluency task gave more nonstandard uses for play objects than children who engaged in imitation play or coloring. However, the effect of pretense play on other forms of creativity has not been extensively researched. One such form of creativity is storytelling.</p> <p>The present study examined the relationship between pretense and storytelling. It was hypothesized that the stories a child tells after engaging in pretense play would be ranked and rated by experts as more creative than the stories told after engaging in non-pretense activities. Teachers were used as subjective judges of creativity. The results of two experiments suggest that engaging in pretense play prior to storytelling does not lead to more creative stories. Suggestions for future research are given.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ross, Storm R"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Marilyn Bonem, PhD, Chair","Dennis Delprato, PhD","Elliott Bonem, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:30Z","subjects":["Play","Storytelling ability in children","Creative ability in children","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/119","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Marilyn Bonem, PhD, Chair","Dennis Delprato, PhD","Elliott Bonem, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ross, Storm R"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Play","Storytelling ability in children","Creative ability in children","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/119"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Previous research suggests a link between pretense and the creative behavior of children, such as associative fluency. Most results show that children who engaged in pretense prior to an associative fluency task gave more nonstandard uses for play objects than children who engaged in imitation play or coloring. However, the effect of pretense play on other forms of creativity has not been extensively researched. One such form of creativity is storytelling.
The present study examined the relationship between pretense and storytelling. It was hypothesized that the stories a child tells after engaging in pretense play would be ranked and rated by experts as more creative than the stories told after engaging in non-pretense activities. Teachers were used as subjective judges of creativity. The results of two experiments suggest that engaging in pretense play prior to storytelling does not lead to more creative stories. Suggestions for future research are given.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The effect of pretense on the creativity of storytelling in preschool and kindergarten-age children"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Marilyn Bonem, PhD, Chair","Dennis Delprato, PhD","Elliott Bonem, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Ross, Storm R"],"dc:description.abstract":["Previous research suggests a link between pretense and the creative behavior of children, such as associative fluency. Most results show that children who engaged in pretense prior to an associative fluency task gave more nonstandard uses for play objects than children who engaged in imitation play or coloring. However, the effect of pretense play on other forms of creativity has not been extensively researched. One such form of creativity is storytelling.
The present study examined the relationship between pretense and storytelling. It was hypothesized that the stories a child tells after engaging in pretense play would be ranked and rated by experts as more creative than the stories told after engaging in non-pretense activities. Teachers were used as subjective judges of creativity. The results of two experiments suggest that engaging in pretense play prior to storytelling does not lead to more creative stories. Suggestions for future research are given.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/119"],"dc:subject":["Play","Storytelling ability in children","Creative ability in children","Psychology"],"dc:title":["The effect of pretense on the creativity of storytelling in preschool and kindergarten-age children"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:30Z"}