Definition
Playfulness is “[…] an individual differences variable that allows people to frame or reframe everyday situations in a way such that they experience them as entertaining, and/or intellectually stimulating, and/or personally interesting” (Proyer 2017, p. 114).
Introduction
While there is a tradition of studying play (i.e., actual behavior) in animals and children, there has been less research on playfulness as personality trait (i.e., a predisposition to play) – in particular, adult playfulness is understudied. There is an ongoing debate about the structure of playfulness and its definition. The following sections provide examples of research on playfulness in children, adolescents, adults and older adults.
Playfulness in Children
Play and playfulness serve important functions in younger people. For example, play behavior is a good indicator of a child’s developmental level and adjustment to the environment, and it is important to occupational therapy and other types of...
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References
Barnett, L. A. (1990). Playfulness: Definition, design, and measurement. Play and Culture, 3, 319–336.
Barnett, L. A. (2007). The nature of playfulness in young adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 949–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.02.018.
Bundy, A. C., Nelson, L., Metzger, M., & Bingaman, K. (2001). Validity and reliability of a test of playfulness. Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 21, 276–292.
Lieberman, N. J. (1977). Playfulness: Its relationship to imagination and creativity. New York: Academic.
Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press.
Proyer, R. T. (2012). Development and initial assessment of a short measure for adult playfulness: The SMAP. Personality and Individual Differences, 53, 989–994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.07.018.
Proyer, R. T. (2017). A new structural model for the study of adult playfulness: Assessment and exploration of an understudied individual differences variable. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.12.011.
Proyer, R. T., & Jehle, N. (2013). The basic components of adult playfulness and their relation with personality: The hierarchical factor structure of seventeen instruments. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 811–816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.07.010.
Staempfli, M. B. (2007). Adolescent playfulness, stress perception, coping and well being. Journal of Leisure Research, 3, 393–412.
Yarnal, C., & Qian, X. (2011). Older-adult playfulness: An innovative construct and measurement for healthy aging research. American Journal of Play, 4, 52–79.
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Proyer, R.T. (2019). Playfulness. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1885-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1885-1
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