Positive Psychology: Play is Important

Monday, May 7, 2012

Play is Important

PLAY ... "is not purely entertainment or a luxury to be given up when things get serious ... playfulness is ... not only to be enjoyed but to be accorded high value for its fundamental role in the success of all organisms, including humans."

from Variability in Brain Function and Behavior

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/playground/

Positive Psychology given credence by Academia:

Positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

Commentators on the subject Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, note that:

"The field of positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued subjective experiences: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and flow and happiness (in the present).

At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits: the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom.

At the group level, it is about the civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship: responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation,tolerance, and work ethic."