It turns out that playing with dolls not only keeps children entertained but also helps develop their emotional intelligence and social skills. A study conducted by a group of neuroscientists at Cardiff University explored the short-term and long-term developmental impacts of playing with dolls.

In the second year of the study, researchers examined the importance of children’s verbal communication during play. They found that when children engage in role-playing with dolls alone, they tend to use more language related to others’ thoughts and emotions. This behavior is defined as “internal state language” (ISL), where children recreate social skills and interactions they have experienced in real life. This could potentially benefit their overall emotional development.

The research from Cardiff University indicates that dolls provide children with opportunities to simulate everyday scenarios and interactions, imitating the words and actions of their parents, teachers, or peers that they observe.

This study was conducted in collaboration with Barbie to examine the behavioral influences on children when playing with dolls. When children play with dolls and engage in conversation, there is increased activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) region of the brain, which is associated with the development of social and emotional processing skills. This suggests that playing with dolls aids children in building social skills, such as empathy and emotional intelligence.

The study utilized advanced functional near-infrared spectroscopy equipment to explore the brain activity of children aged four to eight while they played with Barbie dolls, observing a total of 33 children during the observation period.

One of the researchers, Dr. Sarah Gerson, stated, “When children engage in role-playing with dolls in an imaginative world and communicate verbally, it helps them better understand the thoughts, emotions, and feelings of other characters.” She added, “This type of play may have positive long-term effects on children, such as continuing to foster social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy, which may help form lifelong habits.” She noted, “This behavior helps establish and maintain friendships.”

Furthermore, the research indicated that these findings are not related to gender, revealing the potential of doll play in practicing social skills.

During the pandemic, many parents worried that reduced outings might affect their children’s mental well-being and social skills, potentially even impacting language development. The results of this study may help alleviate some of these concerns for parents.