The problem is though, that our ability and propensity to play is being threatened. It is quickly becoming a lost art in our current culture of technology integration. Through the use of facebook, texting, online game playing, snapchat – you name it – not only are we now exporting our social experience online resulting in a lost ability to recognize subtle physical social queues and the “play face”– but the experience of person to person play feels plain foreign and downright uncomfortable. It is through play that we become comfortable with ourselves, where we learn boundaries of others, how to interact, how to behave when is too much too much and when is not enough not enough. Being social and learning social appropriate behavior, morals and ethics, cannot happen in isolation or digitally. Not only does the digital world threaten the fostering of social aptness, but it inhibits crucial brain development. Through constant engagement in the two dimensional world of “screen time” we leave little or no time for the much richer neurological experience of the three dimensional world. This higher level of play can be fostered through three dimensional object play and solo imaginative play (Brown) or group imaginative play. However, engaging in these higher expressions of play in in contradiction to the trajectory of our culture, therefore due to our society no longer being able to naturally engage in high level play, introducing play conditioning exercises to our culture, repetitive exposure to high level play, is a new necessary. This repetitive positive play exposure will neurologically promote brain change. Recent scientific findings refer to this phenomenon as neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to adapt and change. Engaging in play conditioning exercise to develop and maintain a playful state of mind is not only possible due to these recent findings on neuroplasticity, but also critical to an individual’s happiness and ability to thrive in the modern and emerging world. Through repetitive exposure to strategically crafted group and individual exercises the adult brain can rewire itself neurologically into a more playful state, allowing for a more adaptive, innovative and problem solving oriented mind. Repetitively exposing and engaging a mind in a play state, the mental state allowing for optimum playful behavior and thought, will fire up neural pathways designed for interpreting daily work, relationship, and intrapersonal problems, in a more joyful and creative approach. This will lead to higher level solution oriented thinking and behavior coupled with overall increased personal happiness. However, in order to design an effective play curriculum, we must first understand and study the why, how, and what of play as well as define its benefits. Understanding play in an overall sense in conjunction with modern neuroscience will serve as a road map through which an effective well developed play program can emerge.
Throughout evolution, play survived natural selection due to its ability to build resilience to stress and trauma, prepare the young for adult life and necessary adult skills, as well as a key role in mate preference. Historically, child’s play mimics the skills necessary for successful adult life. Throughout time, girls have engaged in nurturing activities as play, such as doll and imaginative “house” role-play, while boys engaged in activities like play hunting and war (Chick). I fear however that children no longer engage in preparatory play gearing them towards a healthy and successful adult life. I contribute this to increased interaction in the two dimensional world of technology (Phones, iPads, video games, television, etc.) verses three dimensional object play, coupled with exporting our social interactions online. I fear we will soon live (if we are not there already) in a society where we will need to artificially incorporate play into our lives and learning. Thus the imperative need for play classes, play coaching, play conditioning, modern day “playrooms” or “playtoriums” - specific play oriented environments built privately or by the government- anything to teach and build neural-synapses developed through play which our society in no longer capable of doing naturally.
In addition to building adult skill necessary for life, playfulness is an intrinsically attractive attribute when selecting a long term partner. Men select playful mates that signal youth, while woman select playful mates because it feels non-threatening (Chick). Furthermore, engaging in pay builds resilience to trauma. Stuart Brown, founder of National Institute for Play, talks about a study where two groups of rats were raised, one in a play promoting environment the other in a play deprivation environment. A pheromone coated cat collar was then dropped into the cages. Over time, the rats which had previously engaged in play, eventually came out to investigate the threat and reintegrated into the environment. The rats deprived of play stayed in their holes and died - every single one (Brown – TED). Play is crucial to our ability to survive.
Play is also critical to building resilience to stress. Using marmosets as test subjects, Ivan Norscia and Elisabetta Plagi observed that play increased most just before feeding time, when stress and anxiety is highest. In addition, scratching, a common expression of anxiety and stress for marmosets was significantly reduced after an intense play session. They then proposed that the same benefits of play could be true to humans as well (Norscia). Although some theorists believe play can cause stress, it is my belief, along with Norscia and Plagi, 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 economy. Because of plays key role is trauma and stress resilience, it is safe to say that play will continue to survive natural selection. Those individuals with a playful mind and tendency towards play are naturally more tolerant to modern stress, adaptable and resilient to a fast changing world. The playful person will thrive and survive over those who are play deficient or play inept.
However, it is not just these more rudimentary and physical survival reasons for play in relation to our thriving as a species and individual, but equally necessary are the vast and important psychological benefits. Human connection is both taught and fostered through play. Play is our deepest and earliest form of connection, and this early connection is critical to proper brain development. Many studies have concluded that orphans, who do not receive adequate physical touch and connection as babies, grow up with mental impairments and behavioral problems, due to improper early neurological development. Play is our first form of connection, and builds vital neurological connections in early life. For example, early connection can prevents secure attachment disorder from forming (Lavine). And this early connection and bond happens through the act of play (Brown).
Play is not just important to fostering early connections in life and raising our young properly, but is also a key aspect of maintaining successful relationships as adults. Play creates a mental state allowing for deeper connection and more rewarding, higher functioning relationships. We are most “in-love” when we are engage in play. Our best memories are often those of when we were engaged in play. The couple that plays together stays together. Through play we release our ego, open our hearts, become better listeners and most of all have fun. These traits allow for deep connection and communication, resulting in more successful marriages and relationships or all kinds. Not only, does the individual unit need play to become resilient to life stress, as previously discussed, so does the couple or family unit. Patch Adams, play pioneer and renowned doctor, 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 (Promise of Play). Perhaps this explains in part the recent boom in the pet care industry – dogs in particular. As play becomes more difficult and foreign for humans to engage in, we find comfort and solace in the direct, simple, love and play-filled, connections of our pets. Our value in our furry friends is in on the incline while our play declines. Participating in play with animals is somehow societally acceptable. We can connect with them non-verbally, bounce about, tug at their ears and make silly sounds while looking ridiculous, yet without feeling ridiculous. Play is preverbal. It reminds me of a t-shirt I once had that said, “greet everyone as you would your dog” or the bumper sticker, “be the person your dog thinks you are.” In essence, be playful.
In addition to fostering connection and meaningful personal relationships, the benefits of play are vital to our work relationships as well and ability to perform highly in the work environment. It is out of a playful state of mind that our deepest and most creative thought is born. Playfulness predicts creativity (Chang). It has been studied and proved that individuals with aptitudes in the sciences and math have a propensity towards creativity and playfulness (Chang). And perhaps most importantly - fosters high level solution oriented out of the box thinking. It is said that Einstein came up with the theory of relativity by imagining himself riding a beam of light through the universe. If that’s not a playful thought, I don’t know what is. However, in today’s corporate environment, individuals are scared to speak up for fear of judgment from peers, we stifle and shutdown true ingenuity and creative thought by a general lack of valuing the playful mind. In a corporate setting, the playful mind allows for co-workers to solve problems and create with more innovation, quicker and with more joy and ease - resulting in increased employee satisfaction, and an increased bottom line for the company. In 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 (Chang). Play has the ability to develop a mind with a fluid, transformative, flexible and “yes and” tendency which promotes and allows for this advanced problem solving. Although some corporate environments recognize this as the need for play through “team building” activities, the 4 hours once a year attention play is given is not enough, and poorly used. Teaching a group of people how to run by standing in front of them demonstrating how you put one foot in front of the other will once a year, year not increase any participates mile time, or build the necessary muscles to run a marathon. Theory is not enough. Practice must take place - repetitively. For example, repeated exposure to a play conditional exercise of imaginative group play will fosters the ability to engage in professional group environments without the individual’s ego getting in the way which results in quicker, more innovated problem solving and brainstorming. Google offers yoga classes to their employees, I suggest Google look into offering weekly or daily drop in play classes as well if they desire to continue their legacy of for thinking creative thought.
Perhaps the best benefit of the playful mind is its allowance for a kinder, more accepting attitude towards ourselves, and resilience to challenging life circumstances. In happiness psychology, there is a phenomenon known as the happiness set point. This is 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 will return to their pre-disposed innate happiness level. However, 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 (Lickerman). 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 that 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, openness 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 challenging circumstances.
Play has also been considered a crucial to the process of self-actualization. In his article "Play as Self-Realization: Toward a General Theory of Play,” Thomas S. Henricks believes that through play we can answer the fundamental personal questions - what can I/ we do, and what can I/ we become. Through exploring and participating in play we gain a greater understanding of the nuances of intrapersonal and interpersonal complexities. In turn, this allows us to solve both greater and greater intrapersonal and interpersonal societal problems.
Discussing the mirage of benefits from play is good and all, but until we apply play to our daily life, we can’t reap the rewards. So, how do people play? How can we play more? First, let’s take a look at how we currently define play. That is easier said than done. Lloyd P. Rieber, University of Georgia professor believes the difficulty in defining play is largely due to the overall common misconceptions of what play is. And unfortunately, that misconception leads to a lack of value, which in turns leads to the study of play being wildly underfunded (Reiber, 43). We dismiss play as the simple act of fun. Although fun is often a by-product of play or as some say “play in action," it is not synonymous with play itself. From my perspective, due to the Puritan heritage of this country, there is a residual paradigm that our society subscribes to, that says play equals fun, which must mean lack of work, which in turn, means laziness. If play means laziness and hard work is valued above all else, it stands to reason play must be bad. However, this is terribly misguided, and frankly quite sad. As Brian Sutton-Smith, play theorist and author of The Ambiguity of Play is quoted saying, “The opposite of play is not work, it is depression” (Sutton Smith). Play is hard to define because it is difficult to describe and articulate. Through my experience with the study of improvisation, play is a physical experience born out of a playful state of mind. Asking someone to define play is on par with asking one to define a spiritual experience, the state of mindfulness or the sensation of love. Articulate words often fail us when bumped up against such complex, yet simple, intangible human experiences.
How to engage in play can often feel intangible as well. This is one reason why lead play conditioning classes are so important to administering play into our society. This lost art, needs a teacher. Drawing from a background in theater and improvisation, author Neva L. Boyd, 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 allows for expression of one’s true potential (Boyd). Having studied, performed and taught long form improvisation myself, a method derived from the work of her student Violia Spolin, my own experience confirms her claims. She discusses the need of the group for an ultimate expression of play. I couldn’t agree more. When the group is involved, the individual is thrust into an environment where the outcome of the play is no longer in their control. In fact, if they try to control the play (dictate what others should or should not do, use a “no” instead of a “yes, and”) the feeling and creation itself of the play will cease. Although this feeling of lack of control is scaring and challenging at first, it is imperative to play and the playful mind. The playful mind does not try to control. The playful mind is open to all possibilities. When an individual gives over to the group in this way, they are building neuro-synapses which will set a path for “giving over” to God, a higher power, or circumstances with more ease when the challenges of life call upon them to do so. This activity of imaginative group play is only one example of a play conditioning exercise designed to neurologically alter or develop the brain towards a fluid state of mind beneficial to our current culture. We live in a such a fast pace world where unexpected circumstances – tragic or joyful – can come at an alarming rate, an adaptable mind open to all possibilities and free from ego/ a need to control will be beyond a vital attribute to have.
Noah Scalin, author of Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get and Keep your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work and in Your Studio, writes how various simple exercises like tying one hand behind your back for the day has potential to not only open one up creatively, and cure “writer’s block” but also has the power to open an individual up to a more creative life in general leading to greater overall happiness. In essence, what Scalin has unknowingly developed in a simple “at home” approached are potential play conditioning exercises. Simple exercises geared for an immediate creative jolt yet when engaged in repetitively form neural synapses for a more creative joyful approach to life in general.
In the book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, author Stuart Brown discusses and identifies not only various types of play people engage in such as: body play, object play, curiosity & exploration, social play, imaginative & solo play, storytelling play and collective play, but also various personal play profiles. One individual might experience play through competition, while another through being the class clown, and yet another through storytelling or becoming lost in a creative pursuit (Brown). As convenient as it would be to believe play could have a one size fits all model, this would be short sighted and lead to a less effective curriculum. It will be up to the instructor to side coach each individual towards their intended play objectives in a way that is in line with their individual play profile.
Today, many people engage in play through video games and interacting with technology. Loyd P. Rieber, author of “Seriously Considering Play: Designing Interactive Learning Environments Based on the Blending of Microworlds, Simulations, and Games”, explores play within microworlds. What he refers to as small but complete worlds people can interact and “live” within, similar to that of a sandbox for a child or engaging in multiplayer online role-playing games (Rieber). 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. Although I agree video, computer, iphone app games are fun and a form of play, I considered them a “low grade” expression of play due to their two dimensional engagement. As previously discussed, a higher expression of play would involve person to person play, solo imaginative play or three dimensional object play.
Taking a more specialized look at play’s effect on the brain, Louk J.M.J. Vanderschuren, and team discovered through administering various drugs on rat subject, that social play differs neurologically from that of social investigation, sexual play, and aggressive play. The team confidently made the distinction that social play and social investigation are two separate neurologically based behaviors. In addition, they observed that certain drugs like caffeine, nicotine and cocaine decreased social play while it increased social investigation (Vanderschuren). Perhaps, as adult humans we are substituting the pleasure of social investigation for a deeper need of social play. If they are neurologically separate activities as the author’s findings suggest, perhaps our tendency to seek a drug-induced social investigation high is really a search for more social play. Simply put, we are barking up the wrong tree, convinced if we simply climb higher, we’ll become satisfied. If we could access and express social play behavior more, our desire for drugs such as caffeine and cocaine, which increase our social investigation, might very will decrease.
Given that play is now confirmed as its own neurologically based activity, as the above finding suggest - recent scientific studies proving neuroplasticity, the ability for the mind to change and adapt, opens up a whole new conversation in the study of play. If maintaining a meditation practice leads to the mental state of mindfulness so many individuals find enormous benefit from, than maintaining a play conditioning program can and will lead to a mental state of playfulness – rich with benefits. Connecting neuroplasticity, happiness and play, previous Sesame Street puppeteer, turned play coach, Gwen Gordon brings to light that in the happiness field, one can argue that nature is responsible for one’s happiness while others argue it is based on an individual’s experience - their nurturing. Gordon however argues that due to recent neuroscience findings that the brain is constantly growing and has the ability to adapt and change. One’s happiness is actually more in our own control than we think (Gordon). So, if science proves one can change their predisposition for happiness, can one not also change their predisposition to playfulness?
In conclusion, it stands to reason that given the overwhelming benefits play has on our ability to thrive in all aspects of life, it is imperative that as a society we reimagine the concept of play and begin to give it due value. Furthermore, scientific proof of the brain’s ability to adapt and change now suggests that implementing play conditioning classes into our culture to promote and develop a playful state of mind regardless of age, predisposition or previous exposure to trauma, is in fact possible. Recognizing, valuing, promoting and developing the playful state of mind, is a new necessary. If we don’t, we are headed for not just an unhappy overworked future, but also one void of human connection, and resilient, creative individuals. But change is possible. Through well designed play conditioning programs and studios as easy to attend as your weekly yoga class – the benefits of a playful state of mind is the new thing, necessary to thrive in the modern world, and within all of our reach.
Works Cited
Boyd, Neva L. “The Theory of Play” Stephen Dela Cruz. Scribd. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
Brown, Stuart. Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.
Burghardt, Gordon M. "Play, Playfulness, Creativity, and Innovation." American Journal of Play, 6.3 (Spring 2014): 411-413. ProQuest. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Promise of Play. EP. Stuart Brown and David Kennard. Direct Cinema Limited, 2008. DVD.
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.
Sutton-Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997. Print.
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.
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