How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity
IntroductionDo playful people perceive, approach, and respond to their environment and life events differently than less playful individuals? While playfulness has been theorized to affect how individuals frame or reframe situations, this widely accepted premise lacks theoretical specification and e...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1462980/full |
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| author | Xiangyou Shen Zoe Crawley |
| author_facet | Xiangyou Shen Zoe Crawley |
| author_sort | Xiangyou Shen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionDo playful people perceive, approach, and respond to their environment and life events differently than less playful individuals? While playfulness has been theorized to affect how individuals frame or reframe situations, this widely accepted premise lacks theoretical specification and empirical validation. This study examined playfulness as a perceptual lens and its potential broader (re)framing effects spanning cognition, emotion, and behavior in the disruptive pandemic context.MethodsTwo groups with contrasting levels of playfulness (high vs. low as measured by the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale) were derived from a nationwide US adult sample (n = 503) and compared across 19 criterion variables representing diverse perceptual, emotional, and behavioral responses during COVID-19. Sequential analyses including MANOVA, ANOVA, and ANCOVA were performed to examine overall, univariate, and adjusted group differences, respectively, validated by sensitivity analysis across three group categorization methods.ResultsThree sets of contrasting findings evidenced selective playful (re)framing effects, wherein more playful individuals (1) shared similar perceptions of current risk and protective factors while adopting a more optimistic future outlook, (2) perceived similar levels of vulnerability and isolation but engaged in significantly higher levels of resilient coping and adaptive leisure, and (3) participated in similar categories and frequencies of leisure activities but with higher experiential quality, marked by greater immersion, activeness, and positive affect.DiscussionPlayfulness functions as a “color spotlight” rather than “rose-tinted glasses,” with selective influence through “lemonading”—creatively imagining and pursuing positive possibilities to cultivate adaptive, enjoyable experiences while maintaining a clear-eyed realism about challenges. This advances a nuanced understanding of playful (re)framing as operating primarily through intrinsic goal-oriented cognitive and behavioral redirecting, underscoring playfulness’ potential as an integrative resilience factor, experiential quality amplifier, and character strength for promoting individual flourishing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-60d1c27f02eb429cbfaaacf89cae5e9c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-60d1c27f02eb429cbfaaacf89cae5e9c2025-02-10T04:11:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-02-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.14629801462980How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversityXiangyou Shen0Zoe Crawley1Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesPsychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United StatesIntroductionDo playful people perceive, approach, and respond to their environment and life events differently than less playful individuals? While playfulness has been theorized to affect how individuals frame or reframe situations, this widely accepted premise lacks theoretical specification and empirical validation. This study examined playfulness as a perceptual lens and its potential broader (re)framing effects spanning cognition, emotion, and behavior in the disruptive pandemic context.MethodsTwo groups with contrasting levels of playfulness (high vs. low as measured by the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale) were derived from a nationwide US adult sample (n = 503) and compared across 19 criterion variables representing diverse perceptual, emotional, and behavioral responses during COVID-19. Sequential analyses including MANOVA, ANOVA, and ANCOVA were performed to examine overall, univariate, and adjusted group differences, respectively, validated by sensitivity analysis across three group categorization methods.ResultsThree sets of contrasting findings evidenced selective playful (re)framing effects, wherein more playful individuals (1) shared similar perceptions of current risk and protective factors while adopting a more optimistic future outlook, (2) perceived similar levels of vulnerability and isolation but engaged in significantly higher levels of resilient coping and adaptive leisure, and (3) participated in similar categories and frequencies of leisure activities but with higher experiential quality, marked by greater immersion, activeness, and positive affect.DiscussionPlayfulness functions as a “color spotlight” rather than “rose-tinted glasses,” with selective influence through “lemonading”—creatively imagining and pursuing positive possibilities to cultivate adaptive, enjoyable experiences while maintaining a clear-eyed realism about challenges. This advances a nuanced understanding of playful (re)framing as operating primarily through intrinsic goal-oriented cognitive and behavioral redirecting, underscoring playfulness’ potential as an integrative resilience factor, experiential quality amplifier, and character strength for promoting individual flourishing.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1462980/fulladult playfulnessplayful reframinglemonadingresilient copingcognitive and behavioral redirectingexperiential quality |
| spellingShingle | Xiangyou Shen Zoe Crawley How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity Frontiers in Psychology adult playfulness playful reframing lemonading resilient coping cognitive and behavioral redirecting experiential quality |
| title | How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity |
| title_full | How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity |
| title_fullStr | How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity |
| title_full_unstemmed | How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity |
| title_short | How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity |
| title_sort | how does playfulness re frame the world evidence for selective cognitive and behavioral redirecting in times of adversity |
| topic | adult playfulness playful reframing lemonading resilient coping cognitive and behavioral redirecting experiential quality |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1462980/full |
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