ABSTRACT
Pretend play is a significant human invention. Despite occasional reports of other animals appearing to pretend, nonhuman animals clearly do not do what young children do, frequently using one object as if it were another, attributing imaginary properties to objects, and impersonating other characters. Several hallmarks of human civilization appear to arise from the same cognitive underpinnings as pretend play. The philosopher Walton (1990) claimed that all human art forms are rooted in pretend play. To create and appreciate art, drama, and music, one suspends the here and now. Hypothetical reasoning also shares this with pretending: In both, one temporarily suspends the present situation to imagine and partake in a different one (Harris, 2000). Language is also akin to pretending: In both genres, one entity (a word or object) represents another (Piaget, 1945/1962).
