Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation

Play, as defined by biologists and psychologists, is probably heterogeneous. On the other hand, playfulness may be a unitary motivational state. Playful play as opposed to activities that merge into aggression is characterized by positive mood, intrinsic motivation, occurring in a protected context...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Patrick Bateson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Animal Behavior and Cognition 2014-05-01
Series:Animal Behavior and Cognition
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.animalbehaviorandcognition.org/uploads/journals/2/02.Bateson_Final.pdf
Description
Summary:Play, as defined by biologists and psychologists, is probably heterogeneous. On the other hand, playfulness may be a unitary motivational state. Playful play as opposed to activities that merge into aggression is characterized by positive mood, intrinsic motivation, occurring in a protected context and easily disrupted by stress. Playful play is a good measure of positive welfare. It can occupy a substantial part of the waking-life of a young mammal or bird. Numerous functions for play have been proposed and they are by no means mutually exclusive, but some evidence indicates that those individual animals that play most are most likely to survive and reproduce. The link of playful play to creativity and hence to innovation in humans is strong. Considerable evidence suggests that coming up with new ideas requires a different mindset from usefully implementing a new idea.
ISSN:2372-5052
2372-4323