| Description |
1 online resource (162 p.) : digital, PDF file(s) |
| Contents |
1. Introduction -- Playfulness -- Creativity and innovation -- The thesis -- History -- Conclusions -- 2. The biology of play -- Defining play -- Play in humans -- Bad play -- Play across the animal kingdom -- Heterogeneous categories -- Social play -- Occurrence in the life cycle -- Sensitivity to well-being -- Intrinsic motivation -- Individual differences -- Responses to environmental conditions -- Neural correlates of play -- Conclusions -- 3. The functions of play -- The four whys -- Many hypotheses -- Testing hypotheses about function -- Alternative tactics -- Conclusions -- 4. Evolution and play -- Surplus energy -- One benefit leading to others -- Testing evolutionary theories of play -- Play and ecology -- Impact of play on evolution -- Conclusions -- 5. Creativity in humans -- Links between playfulness and creativity -- The importance of mood -- Individual differences -- The reception of creative ideas and innovations -- Winnowing of ideas -- Conclusions -- 6. Animals finding novel solutions -- Solving problems -- Development of novel solutions -- Conclusions -- 7. People and organisations -- Individual creativity -- Creativity in groups -- The role of play and playfulness -- Innovation -- Conclusions -- 8. Childhood play and creativity -- Play, playfulness and creativity -- Pretend play -- Other effects of play -- Playfulness and education -- Sensitive periods -- Concerns about lack of play -- Alternative ways of developing -- Conclusions -- 9. Humour and playfulness -- Jokes -- What generates humour? -- Humour and laughter -- Humour as a signal -- Humour and well-being -- Humour and playfulness -- Conclusions -- 10. Dreams, drugs and creativity -- Dreams -- Daydreaming -- Creativity and alcohol -- Other drugs -- Conclusions -- 11. Pulling the threads together -- Solving difficult problems -- Loss of play in childhood -- Implications for individuals and organisations -- Suggestions for future research -- Notes |
| Summary |
"What role does playful behaviour and playful thought take in animal and human development? How does play relate to creativity and, in turn, to innovation? Unravelling the different meanings of 'play', this book focuses on non-aggressive playful play. The authors emphasise its significance for development and evolution, before examining the importance of playfulness in creativity. This discussion sheds new light on the links between creativity and innovation, distinguishing between the generation of novel behaviour and ideas on the one hand, and the implementation of these novelties on the other. The authors then turn to the role of play in the development of the child and to parallels between play, humour and dreaming, along with the altered states of consciousness generated by some psychoactive drugs. A final chapter looks forward to future research and to what remains to be discovered in this fascinating and important field"-- |
| Notes |
Title from publishers bibliographic system (viewed on 12 May 2014) |
|
Also issued in print format |
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Mode of access: World Wide Web |
|
Print version record |
| Subject |
Creative ability
|
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Creative thinking
|
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Play -- Psychological aspects
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| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Martin, Paul, 1958 May 11-
|
|
ProQuest (Firm)
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| LC no. |
2013001078 |
| ISBN |
9781107015135 |
|
9781139057691 |
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