Latest Findings: Doll Play Prompts Children to Talk About Others' Thoughts and Emotions
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Year two of the study builds on long-term research from Cardiff University neuroscientists exploring the impact of doll play on children, commissioned by Barbie®
Inyear one of the study, research found playing with dolls activated parts of the brain that allow children to develop empathy and social processing skills
Mattel has announced that Barbie and a team of neuroscientists at Cardiff University have released the latest findings from a multi-year study exploring the short and long-term developmental impacts of doll play. In the study’s second year, researchers investigated the importance of what kids say while they play and found children use increased language about others’ thoughts and emotions when playing alone with dolls.
The latest research found children talked more about others’ thoughts and emotions, a concept 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 they can utilise when interacting with people in the real world and can potentially be beneficial to children’s overall emotional development.
“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,” said researcher Dr. Sarah Gerson. “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.”
During observation of 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 the development of social and emotional processing skills, further supporting year 1 findings, that even when children play by themselves with dolls, it can help build vital social skills like empathy.
The study used state-of-the-art functional, near-infrared spectroscopy equipment to explore activation of the brain while 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,” said researcher Dr. Sarah 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 continue to grow emotionally, academically and socially. In 2020, Barbie independently commissioned a global survey** that suggested 91 percent of parents ranked empathy as a key social skill they would like their child to develop, but only 26 percent were aware 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. In fact, 61 percent of parents reported that their child’s social-emotional development had been negatively impacted by the pandemic***.
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 comprehensive critical importance of doll play in practicing social skills.
“We’re proud that when children play out stories with Barbie and vocalise their thoughts and 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.”
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. Further information on the first year results can be foundhere. This multi-year research effort explores the short-term and long-term developmental impacts of doll play, with new stages of research and results being conducted through 2024.
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Mattel, Inc. announced today the addition of a blind Barbie doll and a Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome, created to allow even more children to find a doll that represents them and inspire all children to tell more stories through play.
“We recognize that Barbie is much more than just a doll; she represents self-expression and can create a sense of belonging," said Krista Berger, Senior Vice President of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls. “We proudly introduce a new blind Barbie doll and Black doll with Down syndrome to our Barbie Fashionistas line, reinforcing our commitment to creating products that represent global belonging and inclusivity in the doll aisle.”
Barbie partnered with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), an organization dedicated to creating a world of endless possibilities for individuals with blindness and low vision, to ensure details of the blind Barbie doll, including face sculpt, fashion, accessories, packaging experience, and e-commerce communication, accurately depict individuals with blindness or low vision.
Counseled by AFB, Barbie was committed to represent individuals with blindness and low vision throughout all stages of the design process, from the doll’s sculpt to the dress pattern:
Accessories: The doll comes with a white and red cane with an identifiable marshmallow tip and includes stylish and functional sunglasses. With some blind or low-vision individuals sensitive to light, the lens provides additional eye protection.
Elbow Articulations: The blind Barbie doll includes elbow articulations to ensure comfortable cane use.
Textured and Vibrant Fabrics: Barbie conducted testing with blind and low-vision children to ensure that the doll provided an accessible and satisfying play experience for kids with blindness or low vision. With AFB’s guidance, Barbie designed the doll’s fashion to include a satiny pink blouse with a textured ruffle skirt for tactile interest. Additional details include a brightly colored high-contrast hook and loop fasteners for closure on the back of the doll’s top, as well as an elastic skirt waistband to make swapping outfits easier.
Packaging and Design: Barbie worked with AFB to create accessible packaging for the doll, including the placement and writing of ‘Barbie’ in braille on the package.
Eye Gaze: The doll is designed with an eye gaze facing slightly up and out to accurately reflect the sometimes-distinct eye gaze of a blind individual.
"It was an honor to collaborate with Barbie on the development of the blind Barbie doll,” said Eric Bridges, CEO and President, American Foundation for the Blind. “By increasing representation and promoting awareness about the experiences of blind individuals and those with low vision, our shared goal is to inspire boundless opportunities for everyone, ultimately leading to a world of greater accessibility and inclusion."
In 2023 Barbie introduced the first-ever Barbie doll with Down syndrome, which won the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year award presented by the Toy Association. This year, Barbie once again partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to introduce its next doll with Down syndrome to the Barbie Fashionistas 2024 lineup. Throughout all stages of the design process, Barbie and NDSS worked together to ensure the Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome accurately reflected and resonated with members of the Down syndrome community. NDSS connected Barbie with a focus group of Black individuals from the Down syndrome community, including a young Black woman with Down syndrome, to review the doll’s sculpt, hair, fashion and glasses:
o Sculpt: Barbie collaborated with the NDSS to accurately represent physical characteristics of people with Down syndrome including a shorter frame, longer torso and low muscle tone. Additionally, the doll’s palms include a single line, a characteristic often associated with those with Down syndrome. Special care was put into the face sculpt, featuring a rounder shape, smaller ears, and a flat nasal bridge. The eyes are slightly slanted in an almond shape while white dots can be seen in the iris.
Hair: The doll has a braided hair texture which was one of the key features asked from the Black Down syndrome community.
Fashion: Symbols are incorporated throughout the doll’s outfit, and the blue and yellow color palette represents Down syndrome awareness. The three arrows in some of the hearts on the dress, represent the third 21st chromosome that individuals with Down syndrome have.
Glasses: The doll also wears pink eyeglasses, representing individuals with Down syndrome who often experience difficulties with their vision.
"NDSS is thrilled to introduce a second Barbie doll with Down syndrome. Having this doll launched alongside the new Barbie doll with Blindness marks another important step in expanding representation for the disability community,” said Kandi Pickard, President and CEO, NDSS. “We are proud to partner with Barbie as they grow to reflect our diverse and beautiful world."
“We are delighted to introduce these dolls in partnership with the American Foundation for the Blind and National Down Syndrome Society to further our mission for every young girl to feel represented and celebrated through Barbie.” Berger continued.
Doll play has proven to help develop empathy and social processing skills among children, fueling social skills needed to excel in their futures as they imagine they can be anything. As the brand's most diverse doll line, the Barbie Fashionistas series offers more than 175+ looks in a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities and fashions. This includes dolls with vitiligo, dolls that use a wheelchair or a prosthetic limb, a doll with hearing aids and a doll without hair. The 2024 Fashionistas dolls aim to advance Barbie’s continued goal of reflecting a multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion, allowing more children to see their world reflected through play.
The 2024 Fashionistas dolls, including the blind Barbie doll and Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome, will be available at Simon's Collectibles soon.
To celebrate this launch, Barbie is also collaborating with accessible fashion brand Aille Design (pronounced: eye) on a Barbie-inspired collection, featuring pieces with fully legible braille beadwork. Details include Barbie’s original black and white chevron pattern on a slip dress, a black neck scarf and a classic t-shirt in a hue of iconic Barbie pink, each featuring Aille Design’s signature braille beadwork made with Swarovski® pearls.
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