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Scientific Disciplines Researching Play
Play research is conducted at dozens of universities around the world in many different subject areas; the work takes place in laboratories, classrooms, playgrounds and even the Alaskan wilderness.
On this page, we summarize the range of scientific research on play and name some of the scientists working to understand the biological mechanisms of play and how it can benefit our everyday lives.
For simplicity, we’ve grouped this broad range of play research into three primary branches:
- Neuroscience Research
- Behavioral Science Research
- Ethology Research (animal behavior)
Neuroscience Research
Researchers in neuroscience have shown that play is built into the biology of all mammals.
Affective neuroscientists, who study how emotions work in the brain, have proven that humans are born with seven primary-process emotional systems, one of which is play. All of these emotional systems are pre-wired in the midbrain, the source of our most basic instincts and motivations.
When the play circuits in the midbrain are triggered, the related neurons create a cascade of activity in our higher brain functions. The more often this happens — the more often we play — the more those neurons connect and the stronger those pathways get. The neural connections created when we play are the brain wiring patterns that give us better control over our movement, our thoughts, and our emotions.
Disciplines NIFP Includes in the Neuroscience Branch:
- Affective neuroscience (how emotions function in the brain)
- Behavioral neuroscience (the connections between brain function and behavior)
- Biology
- Developmental neuroscience (how our brains develop)
- Evolutionary biology
- Neuroanatomy
Some Researchers in This Branch:
Key Neuroscience Findings About Play
- Play is part of the neurobiology of all mammals.
- Play is one of seven primary emotional systems pre-wired in the human brain.
- The play circuits (or play system) in the midbrain are crucial to the wiring of the cortex (the upper brain) in the first years of life.
- Play is so deeply rooted in the brain that it serves as a basic motivational drive.
- Inadequate play leads to depression and can interfere with social and emotional development and learning.
Behavioral Science Research
Behavioral Sciences is a broad area of scientific study generally focused on human behavior, cultures, and the mind. This category encompasses everyone from therapists to people who study childhood development, human evolution, and how we learn.
One of the disciplines in this branch that does a great deal of play research is educational psychology: the study of how humans learn, what helps us improve, and what makes learning harder. Studies in this field show that encouraging playful curiosity enhances learning outcomes.
In preschool, when play-based instruction is replaced with memorization and demand for measurable outcomes not in accord with the child’s engaged curiosity, the result is a negative experience for the child. Some children deprived of play in early instruction are more impulsive, have more behavior and emotional problems, and have more trouble getting along with their peers.
Over the long run, children who are able to play a lot before they start first grade outperform their peers who sat in teacher-led classrooms. The earlier kids start traditional schooling, the worse the damage.
Disciplines NIFP Includes in the Behavioral Sciences Branch:
- Anthropology
- Child development
- Developmental psychology
- Educational psychology
- Evolutionary psychology
- Folklore & cultural history
- Neuropsychoanalysis
- Positive psychology
- Psychiatry
- Sociology
Some Researchers in This Branch:
Jane McGonigal
Edward Norbeck
Edward Zigler
Key Behavioral Science Findings About Play
- Play enhances learning. Some play researchers even say that in early life play = learning.
- Play is necessary to a balanced life throughout the human life cycle.
- Children in hunter–gatherer societies receive their early education through mixed-age play (Gray, p. 34). Their play experiences contribute to their cooperative sharing behaviors as they mature.
- In the U.S. the over scheduling of activities — whether academic or “free time” that do not fit with the child’s play nature — has resulted in diminished play time and more psychopathologies.
- Severe play deprivation diminishes the development of empathy and social competency.
- Progressively learned play-based skills maximize the use of talents and lead to enhanced personal and societal well-being.
In a world where information is doubling every few years, we need critical thinkers, we need creative innovators and we need children who have the confidence to learn from failure and to persevere so that they create new things and I think Play, the sandbox, incorporates all of these.
Ethology Research
Ethology generally refers to systematic field observations of animal behavior in natural settings. However, observing humans engaged in play behavior in natural settings is a useful addition and fits the definition of ethology.
These researchers look at behavior in the field and ask why a behavior (in this case, play) exists, how it might have evolved, what function it plays, and how it helps animals or humans adapt and thrive.
Disciplines NIFP Includes in the Ethology Branch:
- Ethology
- Evolutionary biology
- Paleo-anthropology
- Primatology
Some Researchers in This Branch:
Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt
Edward Norbeck
Jan van Hooff
Key Ethology Findings About Play
- Play is a product of evolution. The instinct to play began evolving millions of years ago and exists in the earliest mammals, as well as birds and some reptiles. It has persisted because it benefits each species.
- All mammals are born with the instinct to play.
- In the wild, the animals that are most playful in youth survive the longest as adults (PDF).
- The larger the brain of a species, the more playful they are in their youth.
- Dozens of mammal species — from humans and chimpanzees to dogs, cows, rats, and even some birds — laugh when they play.
I envision a future in which the the import of good play practices is as much a social imperative as good sleep and good nutrition practices.
