The Form Of Play In The Shape And Unity Of Self

Play and language are intermingled in human development. The language that accompanies play is a manifestation of a mental activity that is nonlinear and associative. Early play, which depends on reciprocity and a sequencing of behaviors, may foster the evolution of the sequencing of behavior and language that is characteristic of symbolic play, which first shows itself after about 18 months. The stories the child tells in this setting are personal, and concerned with the representation of a personal reality. At this stage of life, we see the beginning of "the linguistic construction of self in time" (Nelson, 1989). The emergence of the narrative of self depends on caregivers, who provide "attunement, " "resonance, " and a sense of "fit." Out of the sense of fit evolves not only a patterned associative style of language but a feeling of well-being.

Where this enabling atmosphere is deficient, or where there is direct impingement, for example, through abuse, the child has relatively little access to the associative activity that subserves the subjective and "inner" aspects of personal existence. The development of self is impeded and the individual's mental processes are dominated by a linear, externally directed form of thought. He or she lives as if addicted to the stimuli of the outer world. In addition, no sense of well-being can be gained. Furthermore, the associative sequencing, which binds together otherwise disconnected elements of psychic life, is lost. The result is "fragmentation" and a loss of personal continuity.