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DOI: 10.15507/1991-9468.030.202602.291-305

UDC 159:37:394.3

 

Knights and Sword Fighting: Rough-and-Tumble Play as a Driver of Development within the Role Play

Nikolay E. Veraksa
Dr.Sci. (Psychol.), Professor of the Chair of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1 Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation), Leading Researcher, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research (9, bld. 4 Mokhovaya St., Moscow 125009, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3752-7319, Scopus ID: 43061607700, Researcher ID: U-2976-2017, SPIN-code: 9770-0787, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vera L. Sukhikh
Junior Researcher of the Chair of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1 Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation), Research Fellow of the Laboratory of Childhood Psychology and Digital Socialization, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research (9, bld. 4 Mokhovaya St., Moscow 125009, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5036-5743, Scopus ID: 57222128427, Researcher ID: AAH-1586-2021, SPIN-code: 6011-4200, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Margarita N. Gavrilova
Cand.Sci. (Psychol.), Junior Researcher of the Chair of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1 Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation), Researcher of the Laboratory of Childhood Psychology and Digital Socialization, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research (9, bld. 4 Mokhovaya St., Moscow 125009, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8458-5266, Scopus ID: 57209637887, Researcher ID: AAR-6654-2020, SPIN-code: 6955-9705, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Valeriya A. Plotnikova
Postgraduate Student of the Chair of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1 Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation), Junior Researcher of the Laboratory of Childhood Psychology and Digital Socialization, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research (9, bld. 4 Mokhovaya St., Moscow 125009, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1092-3290, Scopus ID: 58134634700, Researcher ID: IWE-4026-2023, SPIN-code: 1062-7290, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract
Introduction. Role-playing games promote the development of self-regulation, emotional understanding, imagination, and social skills. However, rough-and-tumble play, which occurs in the context of role-playing games, is rarely considered a factor influencing their developmental potential. The aim of the study was to identify the characteristics of older preschool-age children’s engagement in rough-and-tumble play within the context of role-playing games and to assess its impact on the developmental effects of the play environment.
Materials and Methods. Thirty-six preschoolers aged 5–6 years from Moscow participated in 22 play sessions in which they were invited to play role-playing games with their peers. The children were divided into two experimental groups: a play condition with an adult using the “Play Worlds” technology, and free play. Before and after a series of play sessions, assessments of executive functions (NEPSY-II subtests, The Dimensional Change Card Sort test), emotion understanding (Test of Emotion Comprehension), and social competence (Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation) were conducted. Video recordings of the play sessions were analyzed for frequency and duration of engagement in rough-and-tumble play.
Results. In the free-play conditions, children demonstrated increased duration of rough-and-tumble play, but this decreased toward the end of the experiment. No significant differences were found between the experimental groups in terms of frequency of engagement in rough-and-tumble play. Increasing the frequency of participation in rough-and-tumble play promotes the development of emotional understanding and physical inhibitory control. The positive impact of participation in rough-and-tumble play is more pronounced for children with high levels of executive functions. However, increased time spent in roughand-tumble play predicts worsening scores on the cognitive inhibition test, which is more pronounced in children with low levels of executive functions.
Conclusion. Rough-and-tumble play is an important element of role-playing and can be considered one of its developmental factors. Of particular practical value are the findings on the need for adult involvement in regulating the transition between different forms of play behavior, which serves as an important clarification of recommendations for preschool teachers on organizing role-playing.

Keywords: role-playing games, rough-and-tumble play, self-regulation, understanding of emotions, social competence, regulatory functions, PlayWorlds technology, free play

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Veraksa N.E., Sukhikh V.L., Gavrilova M.N., Plotnikova V.A. Knights and Sword Fighting: Rough-and-Tumble Play as a Driver of Development within the Role Play. Integration of Education. 2026;30(2):291–305. https://doi.org/10.15507/1991-9468.26302.291-305

Authors’ contribution:
N. E. Veraksa – development of methodology.
V. L. Sukhikh – formulation of the design and purpose of the study; application of statistical techniques to analyse study data; specifically writing the initial draft.
M. N. Gavrilova – specifically critical review; application of statistical techniques to analyse study data.
V. A. Plotnikova – management activities to produce metadata for initial use and later re-use; specifically visualization.

Availability of data and materials. The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the authors on reasonable request.

All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Submitted 21.04.2025;
revised 27.08.2025;
accepted 03.09.2025.

 

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