Drawing
from a background in theater and improvisation, author Neva L. Boyd, examines
play behavior, play structure, and the values of play. She discusses the need for spontaneity within
play and makes a distinction between play that is rudimentary and play that is
directed and properly structured to maximize results. She believes play has its own rules and ultimately
allow for expression of one’s true potential.
Having studied for years long form improvisation, derived from the work
of her student Violia Spolin, our experience and point of view on play is very
similar. She discusses the need of the
group for an ultimate expression of play.
Use of this article will support my theory that engaging in the group
mind is an essential step to developing increased play neural pathways.
Brown,
Stuart. Play: How It Shapes
the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul. New York:
Penguin, 2009. Print.
This book
is an overview of the cross-disciplinary benefits of play. Author Stuart Brown, the leading play expert
in the nation, presents how play is neurologically hardwired into our
brains. Through clinical research of playful people throughout history,
modern neuroscience and the behavior of animals in relation to play, plus his own
personal observations he delivers a strong case for the necessity of
play. He believes human play is a biological instinct responsible for
developing resilient, happy, socially ept, and intelligent, well-balanced
beings. Brown delivers many excellent examples of the need for play
throughout this book, which I hope to reference in my paper. I also hope
to take his conversation one step further by presenting a "how to"
for adults to increase play in their daily lives.
Brown,
Stuart. “Play is More than Just Fun” Online Video. TED. May 2008. Web. 2 Nov.
2014.
In this
online streaming of Stuart Brown lecture in the 2008 Ted Conference, he talks
to the audience about the importance of play and how it is underutilized and
valued in both society, individual life and as a science. He first
stumbled across the importance of play while investigation a murder case, where
after extensive research, he and his team came to the conclusion that the
leading cause for the attacker’s actions was an extreme deficit of play in his
early childhood and life. He goes on to review various types of play,
such as: body play, object play, curiosity & exploration, social play, imaginative
& solo play, storytelling play and collective play. He asks the question, what does play do for
the brain? He believes play has a biologically place similar to that of
sleep and dreams, necessary for survival, and can empower and prioritize your
life. Brown’s examples for showing why
this is so, such as studying the effects of play deficit in rats, are poignant
and I hope to reference in my paper.
Chang,
Chen-Ping. “Relationships between Playfulness and Creativity among Students
Gifted in Mathematics and Science” Creative
Education, 4.2 (2013):
101-109. ProQuest. Web Oct. 16 2014.
The
author, Chen-Ping Chang, hypothesizes and confirms that a playfulness trait in
students can directly predict creativity and gifted ability in the mathematics.
He administers detailed questionnaires to junior high school students and extensively
analyzes the results as his main tool of gathering evidence. He argues that
with an ever evolving modern world geared towards technology and need for high
level problem solving, creativity will foster advanced problem solving skills and
will be a valuable trait for future success. He perceives the benefits of play
in a very similar way I do, one where a playful mind is fluid, transformative,
flexible and with a “yes and” tendency.
Chang,
Chen-Ping, Chih-Ting Hsu, I-Jun Chen. “Relationships between the Playfulness
Climate in the Classroom and Student Creativity” Springer Science & Media, B.V.
(September 21 2011). ProQuest. Web. Oct. 16 2014.
Does a
playful environment predict creativity? Chen-Ping Chang and team develop
studies to answer this question. They
analyze the individual creativity and performance of high school students in
relation to how playful the classroom environment is. In conclusion, they
discover that yes - a playful environment can predict, motivate and enhance
creativity, especially when working in groups was required. What
interests me most about these findings is that in order to successfully work in
group environments, a playful surround is first needed. In modern day
corporate life, with an increase of open office floor plans and
cross-disciplinary projects (due to the ever enmeshment of technology and
creative), the ability for co-workers to work quickly and happily in group
environments is critical to overall performance and success of many companies
and individual work satisfaction. This speaks to my theory that a
successful play conditioning curriculum will initially begin with introducing
the group to the power of "the group mind." This is something I
hope to add to the conversation of play, and this article will help support me
in doing so.
Chick,
Garry, Careen Yarnal, Andrew Purrington. "Play and Mate Preference:
Testing the Signal Theory of Adult Playfulness." American Journal of Play, 4.4 (Spring 2012): 407-440. ProQuest.
Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Playfulness
in adults is an important trait when selecting an appropriate long term mate.
Authors Garry Chick, Careen Yarnal and Andrew Purrington, study how and why this
is. Using Darwin’s theory of natural selection as a jumping off point, they
determine that playfulness is attractive to women because it signals non-aggressiveness
in their mates, while for men, playfulness signals youth and fertility. They
then continue to study how and why playfulness survived throughout evolution,
and why it’s a key component to survival. As the authors point out, child play
mimics adult skills necessary for survival, thus it prepares the young for
adult hood. What skills are our current children playing that prepares them for
modern adult life? And then what exercises can be developed to support those
skills and that type of play? These are question I hope to explore in my paper.
Csikszentmihlyi,
Mihaly. Creativity: Flow and
the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.
Print.
Taking a
detailed look at creativity, author Mihaly Csikszentmihlyi, examines how
creative people work and live with the hope that by doing so, these examples
will be able to help teach those hungry for more creativity. As
creativity and playfulness go hand in hand, my hope through studying
Csikszentmihlyi's observations on creativity, insights and parallels into play
will be made. In the author’s chapters "The Creative
Personality" and "Flow and Creativity" it is clear that when
creativity is dissected, the traits and behaviors are almost identical to those
of playfulness. As Csikzentmihlyi's study of Flow is well-renown, by
using him as a source to support my thesis, I hope to capitalize on his wide
appeal and respect.
Doidge,
Norman. The Brain that Changes
Itself. New York: Penguin,
2007. Print.
Recent
scientific studies can now prove neuroplasticity, the ability for the mind to
change and adapt. Author and psychiatrist, Norman Doidge, illuminates the
many exciting benefits and discoveries of this revolutionary neuroscience
breakthrough. Through varied examples of people overcoming mental
challenges from stoke victims to learning problems, Doidge studies and presents
the ability of the mind to change itself. He does this not just through
emotional and moving real life examples but also through well examined neuroscience.
My hope is to use the science and personal success stories Doidge presents to
support for my argument of the ability and benefits of changing the brain to a
more playful oriented mind.
Gordon,
Gwen. "Well Played: The Origins and Future of Playfulness." American Journal of Play, 6.2 (Winter 2014): 234-266. ProQuest.
Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
Play is
closely linked to a general sense of happiness, according to Gwen Gordon, and
therefore the study of play cannot exist without first studying happiness. In
the happiness field, researchers study nature versus nurture and pleasure
verses meaning. One can argue nature is responsible for one’s happiness set
point (an innate fixed point of an individual’s average happiness), or you can
say it is based on an individual’s experience, their nurture. Gordon argues
that due to recent neuroscience findings that the brain is constantly growing,
perhaps one’s happiness is actually more in our own control than we think; yet
she also argues that secure attachment from a young age plays a crucial role. I
intend to use the argument that if science proves one can change their
predisposition for happiness; one can also change their predisposition to playfulness.
Henricks,
Thomas S. "Play as Self-Realization: Toward a General Theory of
Play." American Journal
of Play, 6.2 (Winter 2014):
190-213. ProQuest. Web 02 Oct. 2014.
Thomas S.
Henricks, author, believes that play is critical to being able to answering the
fundamental personal questions - what can I/ we do, and what can I/ we become?
These are the questions one asks on their path towards self-actualization.
Thus, that path is walked through play, and thus this is why we must play.
Through play, we explore and understand our world. This allows us to greater
understand ourselves. The author looks at the history of play and analyses
multiple historical philosophical views of play to come to his own personal
conclusion that why we play to gain self-actualization. This theory supports my
own feelings on the subject. Through exploring and participating in play we
gain a greater understanding of the nuances of intra- and interpersonal
complexities. In turn, this allows us to solve both greater and greater intra
and interpersonal/ societal problems.
Lickerman,
Alex. "How to Reset Your Happiness Set Point." Psychology Today (21 April 2013). Web. 28 Oct. 2014
This
article describes what is known as a happiness set point. An individual’s
innate level of happiness, a level that regardless of external happenings even
to the extent of winning the lottery, once acclimated to the new environment
and habits, one will return to their innate happiness level. However,
Lickerman points out that there are a few events and actions that can create
permanent change of one’s happiness set point. The death of a child being
chief among them to decrease the happiness set point, while helping others can
increase it. Here is why play is so important to me. As someone who
has lost a child, I refuse to believe for the rest of my life, my happiness
level will never be what it once was. Regardless of being able to prove it
scientifically, I know with conviction from my own experience that play is the
antidote to grief. If one can be with and process their grief while
simultaneously being in a play state of mind, a state of mental fluidity,
transformation, open and freedom from preconceived doctrines - the grief can
and will transform. The grief will move, integrating into the whole
self. It is not a diminished self, but a wider more expansive self.
Building neural-synapses prone to promote a play state of mind will develop
mental resilience to challenging life events by being able to transform, adapt
to and integrate unexpected circumstances.
Norscia,
Ivan, Elisabetta Palagi. “When Play is a Family Business: Adult Play,
Hierarchy, and Possible Stress Reduction in Common Marmosets” Primates: Journal of Primatology.
52.2 (April 2011): 101-104. PubMed. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
Using
marmosets as subject matter, Ivan Norscia and Elisabetta Plagi conclude that
play successfully reduces stress and builds a tolerance to future stress and
propose that the same could be true for humans. This supports the idea that
play has evolutionary purposes. They observe that play increases most just
before feeding time, when stress and anxiety is highest. In addition, scratching, a common expression
of anxiety and stress for marmosets is significantly reduced after an intense
play session. Although some theorists in the field believe play can cause
stress, the authors of this article believe their findings lead to support that
whatever stress play could promote, the benefits far outweigh. Our modern world
is full of undue stress as we strive to compete in a “bigger, faster, cheaper”
global world. Having concrete data pointing to play as a stress combater, will
help convince the more scientific oriented reader of the benefits of repetitive
play exercises and encourage them to sign up for play conditioning classes.
Promise of Play. EP.
Stuart Brown and David Kennard. Direct Cinema Limited, 2008. DVD.
This is s
three part documentary on how and why people play. The first segment,
"The Mother of Invention" highlights the benefits of play in the
corporate environment and how play is a great innovator of creative
thought. Second of the installments is "A World of Your Own"
which explores the types of activities adults and children participate in to
express play. The series concludes by presenting the benefits play can
have on health and society in "The Heart of the Matter." This
last section is the more relevant to my search. Here, Patch Adams, among
other play enthusiasts, talks eloquently on how the expression of play is
on-par with that of love. He believes love
and play are the two greatest connectors and healers, essential to humanity at
large. My experience with grief couldn’t
agree more.
Rieber,
Lloyd P. “Seriously Considering Play: Designing Interactive Learning
Environments Based on the Blending of Microworlds, Simulations, and Games”. Educational Technology Research
& Development, 44.2
(1996): 43-58. Web. Oct. 14 2014.
More
attention is needed towards the value of play. One explanation of this lack is
due to common misconceptions of what play is. Another is the fact play is often
difficult to describe and articulate. Much like a spiritual experience or love
from my point of view. Lloyd P. Rieber goes on to explore play within
microworlds - small but complete worlds people can interact and “live” with in,
similar to that of a sandbox for a child or engaging in multiplayer online
role-playing games. He believes that
microworlds related to technology will help provide education for a more
technology oriented future. Often when I
bring up the topic of play people are quick to ask about video games. I plan to
utilize Riebers work to help explain and weave in how video games relate to the
conversation of play and the play state of mind. Although I agree they are fun and
a form of play, I considered them a “low grade” expression of play due to the two
dimensional quality – whereas a higher expression of play would involve person
to person play, solo imaginative play or three dimensional object play.
Shen,
Xiangyou Sharon, Garry Chick, and Harry Zinn. "Validating the Adult
Playfulness Trait Scale (APTS): An Examination of Personality." American Journal of Play, 6.3 (Spring 2014): 234-266. ProQuest.
Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
To
measure and assess playfulness is adults, authors Sharon Xiangyou Shen, Garry
Chick and Harry Zinn, developed the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale (APTS). This
scale dissects playfulness into three major subscales, fun-seeking motivation,
uninhibitedness, and spontaneity. To explore these traits, the authors take a thorough
look at intrinsic motivation. They also study
playfulness in relation to self-as entertainment (SAE), goal attainment, and
leisure and boredom. Two separate studies were developed and analyzed to
produce the APTS measuring guide. Although, my definition of play might be
broader than this article refers to, I hope one of the charts exhibiting the
APTS will fit into my paper, as charts and graphs are always great for
convincing the more engineer minded reader.
Scalin, Noah. Unstuck:
52 Ways to Get and Keep your Creativity
Flowing at Home, at Work and in Your Studio. Minnesota:
Voyageur Press, 2011. Print.
This book
contains fifty-two exercises to help get you unstuck creatively. They are
some wonderful exercises that could be great homework assignments for play conditioning
classes. In addition, the author writes a wonderful introduction about
how these exercises will not only open up your creatively, and cure you of
“writer’s block” but they will also have the power to open you up to living a
more creative life in general which can lead to greater overall happiness. This echoes my own perception of the power of
play and play condition, a view that I hope to champion in my paper.
Schall,
James V. “Mysticism, Political Philosophy, and Play” Modern Age, 28.3
(Summer2006): 251-258. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
The
connections and similarities between mysticism, political philosophy and play
at first glance seem far stretched, but as James V. Schall explores these
topics, the more and more similar they become.
Using Aristotle’s teachings to link the three topics, Schall discusses
how they all contain an element with the power to connect us to something greater
than ourselves, and beyond our own experience.
Although I do believe the expression of play is closely related to
spirituality and love, Schall’s writing contains a strong Christian tone and feels
not neutral enough to use for widespread appeal.
Staempfli,
Marianne B. "Adolescent Playfulness, Stress Perception, Coping and
Well-being." Journal
of Leisure Research 39.3
(2007): 393-412. ProQuest. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Through
the study of adolescents, Marianne B. Staempfli discovers that although
playfulness has an indirect influence on teenager’s ability to engage in
leisure activities and keep stress at moderate levels, it does not seem to affect
how teenagers cope. Regardless of playfulness, females continued to cope
in a more social way, while males continued to cope in more independent
ways. It seems as though the study in conclusion presented the researcher
with more questions than answers. Such as, how does early development,
demographics and introversion verses extroversion affect playfulness, stress
and coping? From my perspective, I think the study was a little
misguided. Properly constructed science needs to be able to “track,
quantify and present" clear evidence, it seems Staempli focused on
quantifiable observations of play in action verses the more subtle and
difficult to articulate playful state of mind. Perhaps if the study was
redeveloped to observe and study a playful state of mind (an mental outlook verses
a physical expression), we would find different conclusions to Staempfli
initial question, does playfulness help adolescences cope and thrive?
Vanderschuren,
Louk J.M.J., Raymon J.m. Niesink, Jan M. Van Ree. “The Neurobiology of Social
Play Behavior in Rats”. Neuroscience
and Biobehavioral Reviews, 21.3
(1997): 309-326. ProQuest. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
It is the
authors opinion that social play is its’ own form of neurobiological behavior.
Social play differs from social investigation, sexual play, and aggressive
play. The team used the administration of various drugs into the rat’s systems
and then observed the effect, noting if social play increased or decreased.
What is interesting about these finding and relevant to my own research is not
just the distinction between social play and social investigation, which the
authors determine from their study are two separate neurological based
behaviors, but also that certain drugs like caffeine, nicotine and cocaine
decreased social play in the rats, while it often increased social
investigation. I wonder if as adult
humans we are substituting the pleasure of social investigation for social
play. If they are neurologically separate activities, as the authors findings
suggest, perhaps our tendency towards a drug induced social investigation is
really a search for more social play. We mistakenly continue to seek a bigger
high. Perhaps, the truth is we are
barking up the wrong tree convinced if we simply climb higher, we’ll become
satisfied. If we could access and express the more playful social aspect of our
brain, and incorporate the playful mind into our daily lives, perhaps our
gravitation towards drugs that increase our social investigation will lessen.
What
is Neuroplasticity? What is Neuroplasticity, 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
This is a
wonderful website, full of articles and images succinctly and articulately
illustrating just what neuroplasticity is.
It breaks down what can seem to be daunting neuroscience into clear and
simple terms. Elegantly explaining the
science, this site will be extremely useful for describing and educating my
reader on neuroplasticity. Having access
to the science and proof of the brain’s ability to create new neural pathways
will strengthen my argument that creating a more playful brain is possible -
regardless of age, experience or predisposition. Learning how the brain creates these new
neural pathways will help guide what types of play conditioning exercises will
be most effective in creating playful neural connection.
