However, his theory proposes child development to occur in patterned stages where learning does not exist. There is no empirical evidence that shows these developmental stages and neither has any methodological procedure been devised to specifically understand when a child moves from one stage to the other. Furthermore, it does not consider individual differences and atypical development and combines all of development under the umbrella stages of development. Another element that has not been acknowledged by Piagetian theory is intelligence. It can be argued that children play as a result of exploring and increasing their intellect as opposed to assimilation. Furthermore, this theory does not clearly explain why some children pass developmental stages quicker than others. Research supporting Piaget’s theory include methodological implications. For instance, Pellegrini et al’s. experiment measured social competence by identifying peer popularity amongst the sample group. This can be considered as an unreliable measure for social competence. Similarly, experiments conducted have not controlled for time and type of games played by children before investigating social competence and number knowledge. Furthermore, research findings are only generalisable to limited populations. Arousal Modulation Theory: The arousal modulation theory was proposed by Daniel Berlyne in 1960. This theory suggests that play is a result of arousal regulation, where children play in order to create an arousal equilibrium. ‘Specific exploration’ that is observed in children’s play occurs due to increased arousal, and results in different types of play (Mellou, 1994). Ellis (1973) modified arousal modulation theory by suggesting that children play in order to seek stimulus. They do this by using objects and initiating pretend play with peers (Mellou, 1994). According to arousal modulation theory, irregular level of arousal will resu>