WELCOME

For instance, this study of a few dozen children's toys

Jan. 2, 2017 by James Ashley

For instance, this study of a few dozen children's toys at a preschool in the United Kingdom has shown that even when children are playing one-on-one with their peers, they can’t tell their friends whether they are playing or not. The researchers asked the children about the toys, and they found that after their first day, the children were more likely to say they were playing alone than with someone else. This is the kind of thing that parents should be seeing to help them understand what's going on.

The study, however, went on to show that kids who weren't playing alone were more likely to be told they were playing with their friends than with their friends. (This is what happens when kids have trouble finding out what the game is.)

Researchers may be looking for patterns in the information, but it’s also important to see how different types of data are being collected. One big difference between people and animals is that animals have their eyes and ears (known as irises)—they use those to look at things, especially in the face. And so when they see something, they may be able to use that information to explain what it is.

Even in the best-equipped facilities, children still tend to be more interested in looking at a map than in a puzzle. The researchers found that when kids were able to see a person in a group, they were more likely to know that that person was an independent person—meaning they were not playing alone. The children who didn't actually see the person were still more likely to say they were part of a group. But they were more likely to have trouble with that information and to go on to be more interested in seeing that person in more detail (because that person was the only person they could see). (This is what happens when you have your own information and your brain scans are so sophisticated.)

So what makes up a group? And how does it affect well-being in general?

"I think that this is probably something that we can have, but we don't know whether it's actually relevant to adolescent well-being," Orben told me.