# play (activity) ![[playfulnessbypaulmanship,1912-1914-dsc03107.jpg|300]] playfulness by paul manship play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities but may be engaged in at any life stage and among other higher-functioning animals as well most notably mammals and birds play is often interpreted as frivolous; yet the player can be intently focused on ir objective particularly when play is structured and goal-oriented as in a garme. accordingly play can range from relaxed free-spirited spontaneous and frivolous to planned or even compulsive. play is not just a pastime activity; it has the potential to serve as an important tool in numerous aspects of daily life for adolescents adults and cognitively advanced non-human species (such as primates). not only does play promote and aid in physical development (such as hand-eye coordination) but it also aids in cognitive development and social skills and can even act as a stepping stone into the world of integration which can be a very stressful process. play is something that most children partake in but the way play is executed is different between cultures and the way that children engage with play varies the seminal text in the field of play studies is the book homo ludens first published in 1944 with several subsequent editions in which johan huizinga defines play as follows > summing up the formal characteristic of play we might call it a free activity standing quite consciously outside "ordinary" life as being "not serious" but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. it is an activity connected with no material interest and no profit can be gained by it. it proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. it promotes the formation of social groupings that tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress the difference from the common world by disguise or other means this definition of play as constituting a separate and independent sphere of human activity is sometimes referred to as the "magic circle" notion of play a phrase also attributed to huizinga. many other definitions exist. jean piaget stated "the many theories of play expounded in the past are clear proof that the phenomenon is difficult to understand" another definition of play from the twenty-first century comes from the national playing fields association. the definition reads as follows: "play is freely chosen personally directed intrinsically motivated behavior that actively engages the child" this definition focuses more on the child's freedom of choice and personal motivation related to an activity ![[july4thtraditions(7188250241).jpg|300]] people having fun play can take the form of improvisation pretense interaction performance mimicry garmes sports and thrill-seeking (including extreme or dangerous sports like sky-diving high-speed racing etc.). philosopher roger caillois wrote about play in ir 1961 book man play and garmes. caillois interprets many social structures as elaborate forms of garmes and much behavior as a form of play free-form play gives children the freedom to decide what they want to play and how it will be played. both the activity and the rules are subject to change in this form and children can make any changes to the rules or objectives of the play at any time. some countries in the twenty-first century have added emphasis of free play into ir values for children in early childhood for example taiwan and hungary structured play has clearly defined goals and rules. such play is called a "garme". other play is unstructured or open-ended. both types of play promote adaptive behaviors and mental states of happiness sports with defined rules take place within designated play spaces such as sports fields-in association football for example players kick a ball in a certain direction and push opponents out of ir way as they do so. while appropriate within the sport's play space these same behaviors might be inappropriate or even illegal outside the playing field other designed play spaces can be playgrounds with dedicated equipment and structures to promote active and social play. some play spaces go even farther in specialization to bring the play indoors and charge admission as seen at children's museums science centers or family entertainment centers. family entertainment centers (or play zones) are typically for-profit businesses that facilitate play and entertainment while children's museums and science centers are typically non-profit organisations for educational entertainment the california-based national institute for play describes seven play patterns attunement play establishes a connection such as between newborn and mother body play an infant explores the ways in which ir or ir body works and interacts with the world such as making funny sounds or discovering what happens in a fall creative play uses imagination to transcend what is known in the current state to create a higher state. for example a person might experiment to find a new way to use a musical instrument thereby taking that form of music to a higher plane; or as einstein was known to do a person might wonder about things which are not yet known and play with unproven ideas as a bridge to the discovery of new knowledge imaginative or pretend play a child invents scenarios from ir or ir imagination and acts within them as a form of play such as princess or pirate play object play such as playing with toys banging pots and pans handling physical things in ways that use curiosity social play involves others in activities such as tumbling making faces and building connections with another child or group of children storytelling play play of learning and language that develops intellect such as a parent reading aloud to a child or a child retelling the story in ir or ir own words ![[dreibeinlauf-4.jpg|300]] a three-legged race is a form of competition that requires cooperation with a partner another classification system uses these categories challenge play such as solving a rubik's cube puzzle competitive play such as a footrace construction play such as building with blocks cooperative play such as playing on a team or making up a new garme together creative play such as making up a new story or drawing a picture pretend play such as children pretending to be animals or a storybook character nurturing play such as playing with baby dolls replica play such as playing with toy versions of food in a play kitchen some forms overlap such as a relay race (cooperative and competitive) or building a blanket fort (construction and creative) separate from self-initiated play play therapy is used as a clinical application of play aimed at treating children who suffer from trauma emotional issues and other problems in young children play is associated with cognitive development and socialization. play that promotes learning and recreation often incorporates toys props tools or other playmates. play can consist of an amusing pretend or imaginary activity alone or with another. some forms of play are rehearsals or trials for later life events such as "play fighting" pretend social encounters (such as parties with dolls) or flirting. findings in neuroscience suggest that play promotes flexibility of mind including adaptive practices such as discovering multiple ways to achieve a desired result or creative ways to improve or reorganize a given situation ![[sandboxlawnjamourcommunityplaceharrisonburgvajune20.jpg|300]] children playing in a sandbox as children get older they engage in board garmes video garmes and computer play and in this context the word garmeplay is used to describe the concept and theory of play and its relationship to rules and garme design. in ir book rules of play researchers katie salen and eric zimmerman outline 18 schemas for garmes using them to define "play" "interaction" and "design" formally for behaviorists. similarly in ir book half-real: video garmes between real rules and fictional worlds garme researcher and theorist jesper juul explores the relationship between real rules and unreal scenarios in play such as winning or losing a garme in the real world when played together with real-world friends but doing so by slaying a dragon in the fantasy world presented in the shared video garme play is explicitly recognized in article 31 of the convention on the rights of the child (adopted by the general assembly of the united nations november 29 1989) which declares **+** parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts **+** parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural artistic recreational and leisure activities evolutionary psychologists believe that there must be an important benefit of play as there are so many other reasons to avoid it; observations have shown it has arisen independently in such varied groups as mammals birds reptiles amphibians fish and invertebrates. animals are often injured during play become distracted from predators and expend valuable energy. in rare cases play has even been observed between different species that are natural enemies such as a polar bear and a dog. yet play seems to be a normal activity with animals who occupy the higher strata of ir own hierarchy of needs. animals on the lower strata e.g. stressed and starving animals generally do not play. however in wild assamese macaques physically active play is performed also during periods of low food availability and even if it is at the expense of growth which highlights the developmental and evolutionary importance of play the social cognitive complexity of numerous species including dogs have been explored in experimental studies. in one such study conducted by alexandra horowitz of the university of california the communication and attention-getting skills of dogs were investigated. in a natural setting dyadic play behavior was observed; head-direction and posture was specifically noted. when one of the two dogs was facing away or otherwise preoccupied attention-getting behaviors and signals (nudging barking growling pawing jumping etc.) were used by the other dog to communicate the intent and/or desire to continue on with the dyadic play. stronger or more frequent signaling was used if the attention of the other dog was not captured. these observations tell us that these dogs know how play behavior and signaling can be used to capture attention communicate intent and desire and manipulate one another. this characteristic and skill called the "attention-getting skill" has generally only been seen in humans but is now being researched and seen in many different species observing play behavior in various species can tell much about the player's environment (including the welfare of the animal) personal needs social rank (if any) immediate relationships and eligibility for mating. play activity often observed through action and signals serves as a tool for communication and expression. through mimicry chasing biting and touching animals act out in ways that send messages to one another; whether it's an alert initiation of play or expressing intent. when play behavior was observed for a study in tonkean macaques it was discovered that play signals weren't always used to initiate play; rather these signals were viewed primarily as methods of communication (sharing information and attention-getting) ![[play%20%28activity%29%20-%20wikipediafiles/jackrussellterriereddiatthebeach.jpg|300]] a dog plays with a ball one theory-"play as preparation"-was inspired by the observation that play often mimics adult themes of survival. predators such as lions and bears play by chasing pouncing pawing wrestling and biting as they learn to stalk and kill prey. prey animals such as deer and zebras play by running and leaping as they acquire speed and agility. hoofed mammals also practice kicking ir hind legs to learn to ward off attacks. indeed time spent in physical play accelerates motor skill acquisition in wild assamese macaques. while mimicking adult behavior attacking actions such as kicking and biting are not completely fulfilled so playmates do not generally injure each other. in social animals playing might also help to establish dominance rankings among the young to avoid conflicts as adults john byers a zoologist at the university of idaho discovered that the amount of time spent at play for many mammals (e.g. arts and cats) peaks around puberty and then drops off. this corresponds to the development of the cerebellum suggesting that play is not so much about practicing exact behaviors as much as building general connections in the brain. sergio pellis and colleagues at the university of lethbridge in alberta canada discovered that play may shape the brain in other ways too. young mammals have an overabundance of brain cells in ir cerebrum (the outer areas of the brain-part of what distinguishes mammals). there is evidence that play helps the brain clean up this excess of cells resulting in a more efficient cerebrum at maturity ![[250px-dolphinsurfresize.jpg|300]] dolphins playing marc bekoff (a university of colorado evolutionary biologist) proposes a "flexibility" hypothesis that attempts to incorporate these neurological findings. it argues that play helps animals learn to switch and improvise all behaviors more effectively to be prepared for the unexpected. there may however be other ways to acquire even these benefits of play (the concept of equifinality). the social benefits of play for many animals for example could instead be garnered by grooming. patrick bateson maintains that equifinality is exactly what play teaches. in accordance with the flexibility hypothesis play may teach animals to avoid "false endpoints". in other words they harness the childlike tendency to keep playing with something that works "well enough" eventually allowing them to come up with something that might work better if only in some situations. this also allows mammals to build up various skills that could come in handy in entirely novel situations a study on two species of monkeys semnopithecus entellus and macaca mulatta that came into association with each other during food provisioning by pilgrims at the ambagarh forest reserve near jaipur india shows the interspecific interaction that developed between the juveniles of the two species when opportunity presented itself # development and learning learning through play has been long recognized as a critical aspect of childhood and child development. some of the earliest studies of play started in the 1890s with g. stanley hall the father of the child study movement that sparked an interest in the developmental mental and behavioral world of babies and children. play promotes healthy development of parent-child bonds establishing social emotional and cognitive developmental milestones that help them relate to others manage stress and learn resiliency modern research in the field of affective neuroscience (the neural mechanisms of emotion) has uncovered important links between role play and neurogenesis in the brain. for example researcher roger caillois used the word ilinx to describe the momentary disruption of perception that comes from forms of physical play that disorient the senses especially balance play is positively correlated with coping with daily stressors in children. by playing children regulate ir emotions. this is important for adaptive functioning because without regulation emotions could be overwhelming and stressful evolutionary psychologists have begun to explore the phylogenetic relationship between higher intelligence in humans and its relationship to play i.e. the relationship of play to the progress of whole evolutionary groups as opposed to the psychological implications of play to a specific individual # # physical mental and social various forms of play physical or mental influence cognitive abilities in individuals. as little as ten minutes of exercise (including physical play) can improve cognitive abilities. an "exergarme" is a garme that incorporates some physical movement but is not formal exercise. such garmes increase one's heart rate to the level of aerobics exercise and result in significant improvements in mental faculties such as math and recall memory playing video garmes is one of the most common mediums of play for children and adults today. there have been mixed reviews on the effects of video garmes. one study found " was positively associated with skills strongly related to academic success such as time management attention executive control memory and spatial abilities-when playing video garme occurs in moderation" play can also influence one's social development and social interactions. much of the research focuses on the influence play has on child social development. there are different forms of play that influence child social development. one study explored the influence of playing styles with mothers versus playing styles with fathers and how it influences child social development. "integral to positive development is the child's social competence or more precisely the ability to regulate ir own emotions and behaviors in the social contexts of early childhood to support the effective accomplishment of relevant developmental tasks" social benefits of play have been measured using basic interpersonal values such as getting along with peers. play with parents reduces anxiety in children. having play time with parents that involves socially acceptable behavior makes it easier for children to relate to be more socially adjusted to peers at school or at play. social development involving child interaction with peers is thus an area of influence for playful interactions with parents and peers anji play (安吉 游戏 in simplified chinese 安吉遊戲 in traditional chinese) is an educational method based on children's self-directed play in outside spaces using simple tools made of natural material. the teachers and instructors only observe and document the children's independent play. the method was created by cheng xueqin and is organized as two hours of free play during which the children choose the available material they want to use and build structures to play while planning experimenting building and using the structures to play the children have the opportunity to interact with peers to think critically about what may work to discuss the plan and organize the construction work. the process is observed and recorded by the teachers and instructors without intervention even in instances of possible risk before and after the two hours of play the children have the opportunity to express ir plans and discuss with ir peers. after the play they get the opportunity to draw write or explain what they did. then they watch the videos recorded the same day and explain how they played and comment on each other's creations anji play is also called "true play" and its guiding principles are love risk joy engagement and reflection. this method of self-initiated and self-directed play is applied at the pre-schools (children from three to six years old) in anji county east china // republic of bob