Study of Imaginative Play in Children Using Single-Valued Refined Neutrosophic Sets

Abstract

This paper introduces Single Valued Refined Neutrosophic Set (SVRNS) which is a generalized version of the neutrosophic set. It consists of six membership functions based on imaginary and indeterminate aspect and hence, is more sensitive to real-world problems. Membership functions defined as complex (imaginary), a falsity tending towards complex and truth tending towards complex are used to handle the imaginary concept in addition to existing memberships in the Single Valued Neutrosophic Set (SVNS). Several properties of this set were also discussed. The study of imaginative pretend play of children in the age group from 1 to 10 years was taken for analysis using SVRNS, since it is a field which has an ample number of imaginary aspects involved. SVRNS will be more apt in representing these data when compared to other neutrosophic sets. Machine learning algorithms such as K-means, parallel axes coordinate, etc., were applied and visualized for a real-world application concerned with child psychology. The proposed algorithms help in analysing the mental abilities of a child on the basis of imaginative play. These algorithms aid in establishing a correlation between several determinants of imaginative play and a child’s mental abilities, and thus help in drawing logical conclusions based on it. A brief comparison of the several algorithms used is also provided.