After playing with dolls, children talk more about others’ thoughts, emotions, says study

Children just adore dolls. Well, it is well-known but ever wondered about what role does dolls play in a child’s life?

A study has just helped to find the answer. As per it, the children talk more about others’ thoughts and emotions after playing with dolls.

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Not just this, playing imaginary games with dolls can also trigger development of social skills, theory of mind and empathy in the children, the research suggests.

The study was published in the Developmental Science journal. It was funded by the manufacturers of Barbie. It involved 33 boys and girls, who were aged from four to eight.

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Dr Sarah Gerson, lead author of the study, who is also a neuroscientist at Cardiff University, said, “When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalise the message about others’ thoughts, emotions and feelings.”

“This can have positive long-lasting effects on children, such as driving higher rates of social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy that can become internalised to build and form lifelong habits,” added Gerson.

(With inputs from agencies)