Abstract:
We know little about what play materials preschool-aged children prefer to play with and what factors lead them to prefer
particular toys. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential relationship between sensory processing and play
preferences of preschool-aged children. For this study parents completed the Sensory Profile, a questionnaire about
children’s global sensory processing responses in everyday life, along with a demographic form. Researchers also observed
children’s play activity level and play material preference during free play for five minutes on five different days for a total observation time of 25 minutes. To examine play activity level data, researchers conducted one-tailed Spearman rank correlation coefficients using scores from the sensation seeking and the sensation avoiding quadrants of the Sensory
Profile, and all of the levels of body position and body movement as variables. Analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between the total score of Dunn’s sensation avoiding quadrant and the standard deviation of children’s body position during play. This relationship suggests children will tend to change body positions in effort to avoid or adjust stimulation during play to meet their sensory needs. To analyze play material preference, researchers first used the constant comparative method to categorize play material data into 15 categories. We then conducted Spearman rank correlation coefficients using the play material categories and scores from the sensation seeking and the sensation avoiding quadrants of the Sensory Profile as variables. While analysis revealed no statistically significant relationships between Sensory Profile scores and toy preferences, descriptive statistics showed children tend to prefer creative art and building materials during free play.
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