Playfulness is a personality trait often linked with children’s behavior and energy of innocence. You might visualize a playground, a game of tag, or the joy of jumping in puddles. This trait is even sometimes viewed as the antithesis to “adult behavior”. However, increased playfulness could be a key ingredient for adults to experience more satisfaction and connection in their relationships and overall well-being. 

What is Playfulness? 

Playfulness is a complex trait to define; in one definition it is separated into five different behaviors: spontaneity, expressiveness, creativity, fun, and silliness (Proyer & Ruch, 2011). Another perspective stated that it is connected to an individualized ability for a person to frame or reframe everyday situations in a way that can be perceived as entertaining, stimulating, or interesting. In recent years, interest in the importance of playfulness has been increasing in psychological studies with a focus on looking at areas of overall well-being such as sexuality, learning, innovation, creativity, and coping skills (Proyer et al., 2021).

You might be thinking how can I even get in touch with my playful side? Start with getting curious, notice the moments you might feel more playful or might notice you’re holding back. Then take small steps: test out that cheesy joke with a coworker, sing a song to your pet, ask someone to try a new game or activity with you. 

Lower Stress and Increased Creativity 

Playfulness has been shown to correlate with both life satisfaction and engagement and has also been found to be a strong predictor for creativity, psychological and physical well-being, and academic performance. Playful individuals reported lower levels of perceived stress than their counterparts and were shown to engage in stress reducing coping skills such as positive reframing and acceptance. Individuals that are more playful were also found to be less likely to turn toward patterns of avoidance or escape oriented strategies of dealing with difficult situations or emotions (Magnuson & Barnett, 2013).

With lower stress levels can come increased creativity and innovation. Playfulness has been found to be connected to ones’ ability to enter a flow state and tap into their creative thinking process (Farley et al., 2021). In a survey of 1,536 people the link between playfulness and coming up with new ideas and concepts had a strong correlation outcome (Bateson, 2015). 

Intimacy and Connection 

Tapping into our playful sides could be an avenue to increased connection and intimate satisfaction. Playfulness was found to be significantly related to increased connection in relationships (Farley et al., 2021). In both romantic and platonic relationships an increase in social play is characterized as being non-competitive and having reversible roles (Bateson, 2015).

Prosocial teasing and playful interactions were found to be positively correlated with reducing tension and decreased interpersonal conflict. Playful behaviors were found to occur more often in relationships where trust, acceptance, priority of pleasure, space for freedom of self expression, and a deep valuing of the relationship was present. When looking through the lens of sexual relationships, playfulness can manifest as new ways to engage in ones’ sexuality such as role play, experimenting with social roles, BDSM (Brauer et al., 2021). There is hope for an increased sense of freedom, experimentation, and decreased judgment when we approach connection and intimacy through a more playful lens. 

Conclusion 

Playfulness is likely connected with the experience of pleasure and positive emotions. There are many positive impacts that increasing playfulness could have on our lives. Consider what makes you feel playful and what might your brand of playfulness look like? What might your day to day life look like if a little more room was made to engage in low stakes pleasure, silliness, and connection with others? 

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References: 

• Bateson, P. (2015). Playfulness and creativity. Current Biology, 25(1), R12-R16. 
• Brauer, K., Proyer, R. T., & Chick, G. (2021). Adult playfulness: An update on an understudied individual differences variable and its role in romantic life. Social and Personality Psychology Compass,15(4), e12589. 
• Farley, A., Kennedy-Behr, A., & Brown, T. (2021). An investigation into the relationship between playfulness and well-being in Australian adults: An exploratory study. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 41(1), 56-64. 
• Magnuson, C. D., & Barnett, L. A. (2013). The playful advantage: How playfulness enhances coping with stress. Leisure Sciences, 35(2), 129-144. 
• Proyer, R. T. (2014). Perceived functions of playfulness in adults: Does it mobilize you at work, rest, and when being with others? European Review of Applied Psychology, 64(5), 241-250. 
• Proyer, R. T., Gander, F., Brauer, K., & Chick, G. (2021). Can playfulness be stimulated? A randomized placebo‐controlled online playfulness intervention study on effects on trait playfulness, well‐being, and depression. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 13(1), 129-151. 
• Proyer, R. T., & Ruch, W. (2011). The virtuousness of adult playfulness: The relation of playfulness with strengths of character. Psychology of Well-Being: Theory, Research and Practice, 1(1), 1-12. 
• Roopnarine, J. L., & Davidson, K. L. (2015). Parent-child play across cultures: Advancing play research. American Journal of Play, 7(2), 228-252.
• Yue, X. D., Leung, C. L., & Hiranandani, N. A. (2016). Adult playfulness, humor styles, and subjective happiness. Psychological Reports, 119(3), 630-640.