Proyer (2017) proposes a new structural model of adult playfulness that differentiates among four facets; namely, (a) Other-directed, (b) Lighthearted, (c) Intellectual, and (d) Whimsical playfulness (OLIW-model; see Table 1 for a description). Questions? Glamour may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. For example, measuring playfulness (or specific facets) and testing whether this influences physical activity determinants and levels over time. If were pushing a cart though the grocery store and B. All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. J. Hum. Thus, based on the findings of Study 1, we conclude that there are positive relationships of playfulness with activity and mental health (for Other-directed and Intellectual playfulness). As noted for so-called objective personality tests in the Cattellian tradition (allowing for the assessment of T-data; for an overview see Ortner and Proyer, 2018) single tests assessing a specific behavior do not correlate systematically with self-reports (as in our study). We measured the time between the first pin is set and the last pin is set. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.656, Gignac, G. E., and Szodorai, E. T. (2016). Craig et al. (1985).
"Therefore, this personality trait also seems important for the choice of partnerat least more so than the partner having a degree, good genes, or being religious," says Ren Proyer, one of the study authors, in a press release. Putting the app' in happiness: a randomised controlled trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention to enhance wellbeing. The impact of positive affect on health cognitions and behaviours: a meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. On a more global level, the inclusion of the peer-ratings show that the contribution of playfulness to the understanding of the different activity-measures do not seem to be based on a joint method-bias (i.e., all self-ratings), but have substance above and beyond similarities in the way the data were collected. Psychol. Kira M. Newman is the managing editor of Greater Good. Also, those who chose goggles simulating higher levels of intoxication tended to show a lower baseline heart rate. But then those one-off comments or behaviors turn into habits, morphing and evolving over time but always expressing an underlying affection and understanding. These 5 zodiac signs value their privacy a lot, Strengthen Your Mind, Weaken Your Problem. Indiv. And in addition to scoring the guy or gal, having a sense of humor or capacity to play can earn other benefits in life, according to Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Rachel Nuwer Indiv.
Personality, risky health behaviour, and perceived susceptibility to health risks. These are typically used within driver education programs to demonstrate varying degrees of visual impairments due to intoxication. Become a subscribing member today. Indiv. 36, 332336. 64, 241250. Then, the interview on the physical activity during the last 7 days (IPAQ) was conducted. Psychol. After 21 years of being incarcerated, our guest Simon Liu, of Bay Area Freedom Collective, tries a practice that helps him remember the profound connections he's made throughout his life. Of course, it must be acknowledged that these data are also self-reports. The same was true for playfulness: The whole range of the theoretical scale in the playfulness measures was represented and means were comparable to what has been reported before for samples from the general population (Proyer, 2012a, 2014b). Am. This trend has already started and various behavior change programs have been developed with the goal of gamifiying more traditional interventions (e.g., Howells et al., 2016), and has also been suggested for interventions aiming at addressing health (Cugelman, 2013).
J. Res.
All playfulness facetsbut not global playfulnesswere positively related to hand and forearm strength. 62, 645657. Acad. The General Level of Activity Questionnaire. All participants gave informed consent and completed all instruments online. Thus, the convergence was within the range which has been reported for other personality traits. Sport 23, 115118. The Hand-Grip Strength Test (ACSM, 2001) is an indicator of isometric strength of the hand and forearm muscles. Intellectual playfulness was positively associated with mental health, the global activity level, and all fitness measures (with the exception of strength), and was positively related to health behaviors overall, safety, leading an active way of life, and diet. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803, Magnuson, C. D., and Barnett, L. A.
35, 129144. To what extent does this describe you?); and (d) comparison with people that are generally not very active (Some people are not very active.
As in previous studies (e.g., Proyer, 2017; Proyer and Brauer, 2018), playfulness and its facets were accurately perceived by their acquaintances. Please Click Here to subscribe other newsletters that may interest you, and you'll always find stories you want to read in your inbox. Playfulness, some researchers speculate, could serve as a signal to potential mates. Psychol. Bohannon (1998) reports high convergent validity with other measures of arm strength.
Existing literature and theoretical reasoning allow us to derive an initial framework that supports the notion of an association.
Calling all Libras! When analyzing the peer-ratings (see Table 2), we found generally small effect sizes (mean r = 0.02; range = [0.20;0.18]) and in most cases correlation coefficients failed to reach statistical significance.
Soc. The same participants were then asked to watch positive videos (that consisted of videos of dancers and snowboarders). If playing and being playful facilitates the emergence of positive emotions (e.g., Fredrickson, 2001) and, amongst others, contribute to better coping with stressors (e.g., Staempfli, 2007; Magnuson and Barnett, 2013; Proyer, 2014a), there may also be long-term effects observable (see Gordon, 2014). Relationships of self- and peer-rated playfulness with different self-rated indicators of health, activity, and fitness, controlled for gender and age. We have tested a rather diverse sample in Study 1 (also in Study 2, but of smaller size), but, of course, the samples are not fully representative, nor gender balanced. The present study aims at extending these findings to health, activity, and physical fitness. Lighthearted and Whimsical playfulness went along with better back- and leg flexibility. J.
Sure, he wasnt as handsome as Marty, but his positive, playful attitude more than made up for it. A psychology for leisure research. Why ADHD diagnosis is mostly missed among girls? The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01440/full#supplementary-material. Overall, the findings showed that playfulness is mostly positively associated with indicators of mental and physical health.
Am. When using the peer-rated perspective toward health behaviors their relationships with self- and peer-ratings of playfulness showed greater convergence, as it was substantial for global (r = 0.87), Other-directed (r = 0.76), Lighthearted (r = 0.85), and Whimsical (r = 0.73) while the lowest overlap existed for Intellectual playfulness (r = 0.51). doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2017.10.002. While there is no agreement in the literature about a definition of playfulness in adults as a personality trait, the recent years have seen an increase in the study of the variable. "Playful adults preferred in choice of partner." At what point does free food become electoral corruption? Soc. In line with the literature (e.g., Yang et al., 2016), one might argue that engaging in social acts contributes to engagement in health behavior. There was a good convergence of playfulness among self- and peer-ratings (between r = 0.46 and 0.55, all p < 0.001).
A playful remark or gesture can also loosen up a tense situation, reminding your significant other that despite whatever stresses youre under, youre still in a safe and loving relationship. 69, 656672. University of Zurich. Further, the level of impairment of the chosen goggle showed a tendency to go along with more time spent walking and with moderate activity. Scientists are investigating all the different psychological functions that play serves in romantic relationships, and theyre finding that it gives us more than just the occasional laugh. Hence, it is argued that playfulness in adults also contributes to other life domains (e.g., intellectual achievements, or personal involvement)rather than entertainment alone, which has been highlighted as its main function in earlier definitions (e.g., Murray, 1938; Glynn and Webster, 1992; Barnett, 2007).
One of the most influential models to be applied to physical activity is the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a social-cognitive model that proposes attitudes and beliefs (e.g., perceived ability to be active, and perceptions about what other people think about it), influence intentions to be active, which in turn determines actual behavior (e.g., Ajzen, 1985). Playing is a reconnoitering of the unknown borders of two psyches, whose contours can become reassuringly familiar only through the experience of mutual vulnerability and nonjudgmental responsiveness, writes marital therapist R. William Betcher.
They Can Live Better With an Improved Diet, A Rhythmic Small Intestinal Microbiome Prevents Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, Stress Transmitter Wakes Your Brain More Than 100 Times a Night -- And It Is Perfectly Normal, Successful Heart Xenotransplant Experiments Set Protocol for Pig-to-Human Organ Transplantation, Songbird Can Keep Time With the Best of Them, Wireless Activation of Targeted Brain Circuits in Less Than One Second, Virtual Reality App Trial Shown to Reduce Common Phobias, Scent of a Friend: Similarities in Body Odor May Contribute to Social Bonding, Turn Up the Beat! This type of playful exchange with others should be particularly helpful in engaging in activities. (2006). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. There will be an email from me (. Rachel Nuwer is a freelance science writer based in Brooklyn. (2015, February 25). Bruner, J., Jolly, A., and Sylva, K. (1976). doi: 10.1080/17439760.2013.777767, Proyer, R. T., and Jehle, N. (2013). Positive affect may have a wide ranging influence on well-beingvery much in the sense of Fredrickson's (2001) notion of a positive upward spiral associated with the experience of positive emotions (see also Panksepp, 1993). Another area to research would be the fit between type of physical activities pursued and preference in specific domains of playfulness. 8, 149162. Moreover, we follow Hofstee's (1994) approach to aggregate the self- and peer-rating to provide an approximation of the participants true personality. The internal consistency of the total scale was high ( = 0.83). Connolly, B. S., and Ones, D. S. (2010). doi: 10.1037/a0021212.
People talked about using playfulness to seduce their partner and make sex enjoyable, and to communicate things more effectively. In a next step, we examined the relationships of playfulness with health, activity, and fitness. Knowing me, knowing you: the accuracy and unique predictive validity of self-ratings and other-ratings of daily behavior. Indiv. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001).
doi: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.01301001.x.
This approach allows to estimate the overall overlap of the observed correlations when comparing the self- vs. peer ratings. (1999). 38, 251265. The experienced positive affect may also buffer against (emotional) distress that may be a hindering factor for engaging in physical activity or limiting a persons' desire to actively engage with their environment. B. The results showed that the man who told the joke before approaching the woman was rated much more attractive and intelligent than the man who had simply listened to the joke. *Correspondence: Ren T. Proyer, rene.proyer@psych.uni-halle.de, Humor and Laughter, Playfulness and Cheerfulness: Upsides and Downsides to a Life of Lightness, View all The latter may also be helpful to address the question of whether playful people engage (exceedingly) in computer/online-based games and games played on mobile devices and whether this may also have detrimental effects on physical activity levels. Wells and Dillon (1952) report good reliability and validity of this task, and others report good criterion validity for hamstring extensibility (Mayorga-Vega et al., 2014). A total of N = 67 participants (73.1% women) aged from 19 to 75 (M = 39.21, SD = 18.54) took part in Study 2. New research in the American Journal of Play shows that, unlike most animals, many adult humans continue to engage in playful behavior well into their summer and autumn years, and that this fun-loving attitude may help them score big when it comes to the opposite sex. The findings widely confirmed the results of Study 1 regarding activity with the strongest relationship found for Other-directed, and tendencies for Intellectual playfulness. Z. Gesundh. the sit and reacha test of back and leg flexibility. Further, the question of the generalizability of the findings needs to be discussed. The strength of this approach is that we had the possibility of directly inquiring about activity and discussing questions with each of the participants, rather than have to rely on the answers in questionnaires. Self-rated health status as a health measure: the predictive value of self-reported health status on the use of physician services and on mortality in the working-age population. However, achieving those warm, fuzzy benefits of play might depend on what kinds of play we engage in. Finally, we expected these relationships to be present in all data sources (i.e., when looking at relationships between self-rated playfulness and self-rated health/activity/fitness, but also self- and peer-ratings, peer- and self-ratings, and peer- and peer-ratings). Content on this website is for information only. Secondly, a positive association between playfulness and physical functioning can also manifest as action orientated tendencies toward curiosity, exploration, or physical activities; playful people may be interested in trying and doing a greater range of activities. Other-directed playfulness tended to go along with better lower body strength and endurance. Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. In the Stanford University experiment, the male and female participants were asked to view funny video clips (showing people falling over and animals performing tricks). Is playfulness a benefit to work? Agreement among judges of personality: interpersonal relations, similarity, and acquaintanceship. We can playfully pilfer a cookie from our beloved, turning a normally selfish act into an affectionate exchange.
Manuscript submitted for publication. Again, the relationships were high and ranged between r = 0.47 and r = 0.74 (mean = 0.68), while the correlations between the same constructs (i.e., the correlations in the main axis) were numerically higher than those between different constructs (see Supplementary Table B for all coefficients). Sports Med. Thirdly, those high in playfulness may be in general more interested in promoting their own health. Behav. Playfulness as a personality trait in adults has hitherto been widely neglected in research and practice across disciplines. 15, 4163. Psychol. (2010). 2022 The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Zurich: University of Zurich. From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior, in Action-control: From Cognition to Behavior, eds J. Kuhl and J. Beckman (Heidelberg: Springer), 1139. Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sjstrm, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., et al. About half of the participants were currently in a relationship (70.1%), 26.9% single, and 3.0% were divorced or separated. Leo! A further study carried out by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine observed that women enjoy being in the presence of men who can make them laugh. In my relationship, for example, Fred invented a word thats an amalgamation of a Korean expression and our cats nicknamewhich makes absolutely zero senseto communicate exasperation. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2004.04.005, Rhodes, R. E., and Smith, N. E. I. Differ. Of course, there is such a thing as too playfulan inability to take anything seriously has certainly scared me away from some guys beforebut all in all, it's seeming like a definite man-magnet quality. Additionally, existing literature has not considered different facets of playfulness, but only global playfulness. The time spent with physical activity of low, moderate, and vigorous levels of intensity is assessed, and, additionally, the time spent sitting. 50, 517528. Why are humans playful?
This may help playful adults not only to engage in team sports, but also in other joint activities with others (e.g., outdoor activities) and, in general, be associated with greater engagement with one's environment. Secondly, this approach allows reducing common method variance (Campbell and Fiske, 1959) based on the same assessment techniques (i.e., questionnaires). It should be noted that the size of the correlation coefficients between Hand and Forearm Strength and Intellectual playfulness (about 37% shared variance) is an anomaly in comparison with the other coefficients. International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Germany, State University of New York at New Paltz, United States. They report that they communicate better, resolve conflicts better, and see their relationships in a more positive light. In contrast to Study 1, we also detected relationships between playfulness and fitness: global, Other-directed, and Intellectual playfulness positively related to cardiorespiratory fitness, while all playfulness facets positively related to measures of strength. However, playfulness also showed some negative relationships with specific health behaviors, such as security orientation (e.g., wearing a safety belt in the car or avoiding violence), substance use (e.g., drinking coffee or alcohol), and hygiene (e.g., regularly brushing teeth, or using floss). In Education. Health Psychol. Only some of these patterns held up for the intellectually playful, and still fewer were found in whimsically playful mates.
Am. Gignac and Szodorai, 2016) instead of relying solely on statistical significance. In the second experiment, again, two men listened as another man told a joke. Ortner, T. M., and Proyer, R. T. (2018).
Singer, J. L., Singer, D. G., and Sherrod, L. R. (1980). Additionally, we have controlled for body mass index due to its relationship to both playfulness (mostly Lighthearted playfulness [r = 0.27, p = 0.028] but also nonsignificant trends for Intellectual [r = 0.14], Whimsical [r = 0.13], and Other-directed [r = 0.08] playfulness) and fitness measures (mostly recovery heart rate [r = 0.35] and lower body strength and endurance, r = 0.40). From the GGSC to your bookshelf: 30 science-backed tools for well-being. Basic Appl.
The schedules and stresses of life can impinge on our relationship and suck the playfulness out of it. Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Participants could freely choose the level of impairment for doing this task and were allowed to try them out as long as they wanted. Playful adults are fond of wordplay, like improvising, approach a challenge lightheartedly, take pleasure in unusual things, deal with others in a playful way, enjoy teasing -- and create situations in which they and others are entertained: Playfulness in humans has many facets. Psychol. The exact qualities man magnets possess are varied and somewhat mysterious, but playfulness is probably one of them, according to research published fittingly in American Journal of Play. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.78.3.546, Wells, K. F., and Dillon, E. K. (1952). 1.
First, we present the associations of self- and peer-rated playfulness with self-rated indicators of health, activity, and fitness (Table 2), and afterwards the associations of self- and peer-rated playfulness with peer-rated indicators (Table 3), and finally the relationships between averaged self- and peer-ratings of playfulness and the indicators of health, activity, and fitness (Supplementary Table C). International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Cameron, D. S., Bertenshaw, E. J., and Sheeran, P. (2015). Play Cult. Bull. Plus, people who were in relationships thought they were more playful than the single participants. The relationships can also be found when using more objective measures of physical activity, rather than the self- and peer-ratings. Rahner, H. (1948/2008). However, it should be tested whether being high in Other-directed playfulness is, indeed, correlated with engagement in group-sports (e.g., being in a soccer team). 8, 222232. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. We also examined the agreement among self- and peer-ratings for activity, fitness, and health behaviors. Participants were not financially compensated but received an automated feedback on their individual scores upon completion of the study and had the opportunity to enter a prize draft for one of 10 online shopping vouchers worth 25 Swiss Francs. Hence, Study 2's main contribution is the inclusion of objectively measured indicators of fitness.
