Relations between teacher-child interaction quality and children's playfulness.

Adults' behaviour in interactions with children is assumed to influence children's playfulness. However, little is known about how the quality of teacher-child interaction in early childhood education and care affects the development of children's playfulness, although the interaction quality has been identified as a strong predictor of children's development in various domains. The present study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between children's multidimensional playfulness and the quality of teacher-child interactions. At first measurement, 62 teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) were observed to assess the quality of their interactions with children using the standardized CLASS Toddler scale. The playfulness of 393 children was assessed using the children's playfulness scale at the same time and one year later. No significant effects were found cross-sectionally. Longitudinally, high interaction quality in learning support was marginally negatively related to children's total score of playfulness and significantly negatively to the playfulness dimensions of cognitive and physical spontaneity. We discuss which teaching styles might hamper or promote children's playfulness.

Campaign Governance and Playfulness: Unraveling Chinese HPV Immunization Promotion Efforts on Douyin.

(1) Background: Playful immunization promotion helps to approach persuasive efforts and raise vaccine acceptance. However, playful promotion in the field of HPV immunization has not been explored. (2) Methods: To address this gap, we analyzed data gleaned from 73 short videos posted by state media and from semi-structured interviews with 37 Chinese stakeholders using thematic analysis. (3) Results: The analysis revealed that state media promoted HPV immunization using celebrity endorsement, anthropomorphism techniques and entertainment performance strategies. Additionally, state media engaged in circle mobilization and livestreamed on Douyin to reach wider audiences. Although playful strategies increased the popularity of HPV vaccine promotion, insufficient multi-stakeholder partnerships and homogeneous message delivery decreased the efficiency of HPV immunization promotion campaigns. (4) Conclusions: The strengthening of multi-stakeholder partnerships and the optimization of the public service provision of HPV vaccination are expected. Our research will not only deepen the global audience's understanding of Chinese immunization promotion campaigns, but also offer insights for implementing future global health promotion.

Extending the study of playfulness in romantic life: Analyzing associations with attachment and jealousy in same-gender and opposite-gender couples.

Adult playfulness describes individual differences in (re)framing situations so that they are experienced as entertaining, and/or interesting, and/or intellectually stimulating. There is increasing interest in its role for romantic life. Using the OLIW model of playfulness, we localized its facets Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical playfulness into systems of attachment styles and romantic jealousy. We analyzed data of 332 mixed-gender and 139 same-gender couples (Ntotal = 942). We found no robust mean differences between same-gender and mixed-gender couples (exception: same-gender couples are lower in emotional jealousy). Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analyses showed that Other-directed, Lighthearted, and Intellectual playfulness yielded negative relations to attachment insecurities in actors, but no partner effects. For jealousy, all types of playfulness related negatively to emotional jealousy, but Whimsical playfulness showed positive inclinations to cognitive and behavioral jealousy in actors. Partners reported greater cognitive jealousy when their partner was high in Lighthearted, whereas partners from Whimsical high scorers reported lower emotional jealousy. The findings are invariant between same-gender and mixed-gender couples. Our study extends the knowledge on how playfulness relates to experiences in close relationships in mixed-gender and same-gender couples. We discuss implications (e.g., Signal Theory of Playfulness) and future directions.

Quality of parent-child interaction in underserved migrant areas in Kyrgyz Republic: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: After societal change in Kyrgyz Republic, the pattern of parent-child interaction in the changing parenting culture is an important factor influencing the positive development of Kyrgyz children. This study is aim to assess the quality of parent-child interactions in Kyrgyzstan by analyzing the interaction patterns and playfulness of children during free play at home. METHODS: This was a descriptive pilot study using video-recorded observations to explore parent-child interactions. The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System and a playfulness instrument were used to assess the patterns and quality of the interaction. A total of 20 dyads of children aged 24 to 58 months and their parents, living in migrant communities of Kyrgyzstan, participated in this study. RESULTS: Major parent-child interaction patterns included 731 turns of parent-child dyads during 1040 episodes. Verbal as well as nonverbal behaviors of parents were observed while interacting with their children. Parents used direct and indirect commands most frequently, while praise was used the least in interactions. Children frequently used compliance as well as noncompliance when they interacted with their parents. Children had low playfulness scores while interacting with their parents. Cognitive spontaneity was the component with the lowest score among all subdomains of playfulness. CONCLUSION: Future studies are recommended to develop strategies to facilitate parents' active interaction with their children, promote children's playfulness, and improve the quality of their mutual interaction.

Development of Playfulness in Children with Low Executive Functions: The Role of Parental Playfulness and Parental Playtime with Their Child.

Children with low executive functions (EFs) are described as having lower levels of playfulness, the quality of children's play, compared to children with EFs within the normal range. However, how playfulness in children with low EFs develops over time remains unclear. Additionally, little is known about how parental playfulness and parental playtime with their child affect these developmental trajectories in children with low EFs. To address these research gaps, we measured playfulness in 62 children with low EFs and 62 children with EFs within the normal range aged 3 to 6 years at three time points over 2 years. We used the Children's Playfulness Scale, which captures multi-informant perspectives from parents and teachers. Moreover, the parents of children with low EFs reported their own playfulness and their playtime with their children at T1. Repeated-measures hierarchical linear models indicated significantly lower levels of playfulness in the children with low EFs than in the controls, with no significant changes observed over 2 years in either group. In the children with low EFs, we found a significant positive relationship between parental playfulness at T1 and children's playfulness 2 years later but a significant negative relationship between parental playtime at T1 and children's playfulness 2 years later. These results prompt a broad discussion on potential implications for the enhancement of playfulness in children with low EFs within the family environment.

Playfulness in middle- and older age: testing associations with life satisfaction, character strengths, and flourishing.

OBJECTIVES: Playfulness describes individual differences in (re)framing situations in a way that they are experienced as interesting, intellectually stimulating, or entertaining. We extended the study of playfulness to groups of middle- and higher age and examined the relations of four facets of playfulness (Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical) to indicators of positive psychological functioning. METHOD: We collected self-report data from 210 participants aged between 50 and 98 years. RESULTS: The playfulness expressions in this age group were comparable to younger adults. We found that playfulness relates to life satisfaction, the PERMA domains of well-being, and character strengths with small-to-medium correlation effect sizes. The OLIW facets showed differential associations, with regression analyses revealing that particularly Other-directed is positively associated with positive psychological functioning. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the importance of playful relationships across the lifespan. We discuss the findings regarding the role of playfulness for healthy aging.

Exploring the acquaintanceship effect for the accuracy of judgments of traits and profiles of adult playfulness.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to extend the research on the interpersonal perception of adult playfulness (global and facets: Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical [OLIW]) by testing whether judgmental accuracy relates to indicators of acquaintanceship. BACKGROUND: Playfulness has been found to contribute to social relationships. METHOD: Using data from 658 dyads (1,318 participants) who had been acquainted for 1 month to 62.2 years, we computed measurement invariance analyses and self-other agreement (SOA) for the facets and profiles of playfulness. We operationalized acquaintanceship as length of acquaintanceship, relationship type (friends, family, and partners), and intensity of acquaintanceship. We tested acquaintanceship effects with multigroup latent analyses and response surface analyses. RESULTS: Self- and other ratings of playfulness showed scalar measurement invariance and robust SOA in traits and distinctive profiles (≥ .37). There was only minor evidence for acquaintanceship effects for relationship duration (only Intellectual playfulness), and group comparisons showed that friends yielded lower SOA in profiles than dyads of family members and couples. CONCLUSION: Considering that playfulness can be accurately perceived even at zero acquaintance, we discuss whether playfulness is a "good trait" (high trait visibility) in which acquaintanceship plays a minor role. We also discuss methodological considerations for detecting acquaintanceship effects during relationship formation.

The PPSQ: assessing parental, child, and partner's playfulness in the preschool and early school years.

Introduction: Developmental research has traditionally focused on parenting behaviors such as nurturance and care, due to a focus on mothers' behaviors. Other parenting dimensions such as parental playfulness (i.e., use of creativity, imagination, and humor during parent-child interactions) have comparatively received little attention. Although some measures tap into parents' and children's playfulness, these measures are limited. Indeed, they do not assess multiple domains of playfulness (i.e., both parents' and the child's playfulness) or focus on one specific setting such as children's play with peers. Additionally, existing measures do not consider parents' reactions to their partners' playfulness. To address this gap, we created the Playful Parenting Style Questionnaire (PPSQ), which assesses three domains of playfulness: (a) parental domain, (b) child domain, and (c) partner domain. The current study is part of a validation effort of the PPSQ using a quantitative design. We aimed to explore the structure of the PPSQ by conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for each domain of playfulness; and assess the construct validity of the PPSQ factors by examining the association between factors and existing measures of playful parenting, child playfulness, and co-parenting. Method: The sample includes 347 parents (294 mothers and 53 fathers) of preschool/school-age children (M = 5.10 years; 182 girls, 127 boys). Parents were mostly White (76%) and from a low socioeconomic risk background. Parents completed a series of online questionnaires including the PPSQ, 3 existing measures of parent playfulness (Parental Playfulness Questionnaire; Adult Playfulness Scale; Challenging Parenting Behavior Scale), 2 existing measures of child playfulness (Child Behavior Inventory; Children's Playfulness Scale), a coparenting instrument (Co-parenting Relationship Scale), and sociodemographic information. Results: The EFA revealed 4 factors for parental playfulness, 1 factor for child playfulness, and 3 factors for partner's playfulness. The construct validity analyses identified multiple associations indicating convergence with existing measures for the parent and partners domain but not the child factor. Discussion: This study allowed for a better understanding of the playful dynamics that occur within a family.

Playfulness from children's perspectives: development and validation of the Children's Playfulness Scale as a self-report instrument for children from 3 years of age.

Children's playfulness refers to children's enjoyment, motivation, and engagement in play and has been predominantly assessed from an adult perspective. To assess children's perspectives on their own playfulness, we adapted and modified the Children's Playfulness Scale (CPS) for children from 3 years and used a two-level response format with a total of four answer options. We tested the self-report scale with 564 children between 3 and 8 years of age who attended childcare center or kindergarten. Results indicated that the adapted version of the CPS identified the five distinct domains of playfulness: social spontaneity, cognitive spontaneity, physical spontaneity, sense of humor, and manifest joy; furthermore, results showed invariance across multiple groups for gender, age, and language skills. A highly significant positive correlation was found between children's self-reported playfulness and children's self-reported social self-concept (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), which demonstrates convergent validity. No association was found with teacher proxy report of children's playfulness (r = 0.03, p = 0.92). Overall, our study confirmed first indications of the validity of the modified CPS as a reliable instrument for assessing children's self-reported playfulness. This enables children as young as 3 years old to be assessed on their own playfulness, which is a valuable supplement to the adult perspective.

La lúdica: una alternativa en la formación del estudiante universitario de Cultura Física

La presente investigación aborda la importancia de la lúdica en el estudiante universitario de Cultura Física desde el proceso formativo, que exige lograr altos niveles de conocimientos y habilidades. Desde esta perspectiva, se analiza el proceso de la lúdica como un componente esencial en la formación inicial del profesional de la Cultura Física. Mediante la lúdica se logra una formación más adecuada al contexto universitario actual según los cambios en los planes de estudios, por lo que resulta necesario el diagnóstico sobre dicho componente. El artículo tuvo el propósito de crear acciones pedagógicas para la formación lúdica del profesional de la Cultura Física, desde la asignatura Educación Rítmica y Lúdica de la disciplina Teoría y práctica de la Educación Física. Se aplicaron métodos teóricos como: analítico sintético, sistémico-estructural-funcional, y empíricos, tales como: la observación, revisión documental, entrevista, encuesta, preexperimento (prest y postest) y el criterio de expertos. Se consultaron a siete profesores como expertos, por lo que se utilizó una muestra de 27 estudiantes de tercer año de la carrera por haber recibido la asignatura. Como resultado del estudio y diagnóstico realizados se detectaron insuficiencias en el empleo y uso de la lúdica dentro del proceso formativo para el logro de una formación lúdica y la necesidad de transformar el modo de actuación de los profesionales de la Cultura Física, los resultados obtenidos en la práctica pedagógica demostraron la utilidad de las acciones pedagógicas lúdicas.

A presente pesquisa aborda a importância do lúdico no estudante universitário de Cultura Física a partir do processo de formação, que exige o alcance de elevados níveis de conhecimentos e habilidades. Nessa perspectiva, o processo lúdico é analisado como componente essencial na formação inicial do profissional de Cultura Física. Através do jogo consegue-se uma formação mais adequada ao contexto universitário atual de acordo com as mudanças nos planos de estudos, razão pela qual é necessário um diagnóstico desta componente. O artigo teve como objetivo criar ações pedagógicas para a formação lúdica do profissional de Cultura Física, a partir da disciplina Educação Rítmica e Lazer da disciplina Teoria e prática da Educação Física. Foram aplicados métodos teóricos como: analítico-sintético, sistêmico-estrutural-funcional, e métodos empíricos, como: observação, revisão documental, entrevista, levantamento, pré-experimento (pré e pós-teste) e julgamento de especialistas. Foram consultados sete professores como especialistas, portanto foi utilizada uma amostra de 27 alunos do terceiro ano por terem recebido a disciplina. Como resultado do estudo e diagnóstico realizado, foram detectadas insuficiências no emprego e utilização do lúdico no processo formativo para a concretização da formação lúdica e a necessidade de transformação do modo de atuação dos profissionais de Cultura Física, demonstrados os resultados obtidos na prática pedagógica a utilidade das ações pedagógicas lúdicas.

The present research addresses the importance of play in the university student of Physical Culture from the training process, which requires achieving high levels of knowledge and skills. From this perspective, the process of play is analyzed as an essential component in the initial training of the Physical Culture professional. Through play, training is more appropriate to the current university context according to the changes in the study plans, which is why a diagnosis of said component is necessary. The article had the purpose of creating pedagogical actions for the playful training of the Physical Culture professional, from the Rhythmic and Ludic Education subject of the discipline Theory and Practice of Physical Education. Theoretical methods were applied such as: analytical -synthetic, systemic-structural-functional, and empirical methods, such as: observation, documentary review, interview, survey, pre-experiment (prest and post-test) and expert judgment. Seven professors were consulted as experts, so a sample of 27 third-year students was used for having received the subject. As a result of the study and diagnosis carried out, insufficiencies were detected in the employment and use of play within the training process to achieve playful training and the need to transform the mode of action of the Physical Culture professionals, the results obtained in pedagogical practice demonstrated the usefulness of playful pedagogical actions.

Special Issue: Experiencing Well-BeingPlayfulness and the meaningful life: an active inference perspective.

Our paper takes as its starting point the recent proposal, at the core of this special issue, to use the active inference framework (AIF) to computationally model what it is for a person to live a meaningful life. In broad brushstrokes, the AIF takes experiences of human flourishing to be the result of predictions and uncertainty estimations along many dimensions at multiple levels of neurobiological organization. Our aim in this paper is to explain how AIF models predict that uncertainty can sometimes, under the right conditions, be conducive to the experiences of flourishing. Our focus is on playfulness, because playful individuals have learned a high-level prior that in certain safe contexts, uncertainty and error should be tolerated and explored. They have expanded the phenotypic bound on the amount of surprise they are prepared to tolerate in their lives. The positive embracing of uncertainty has a number of positive knock-on effects for the kind of lives playful individuals are able to lead. First, a playful individual attends to the world in a way that is open and expansive, a mode of attending that is effortless and therefore conducive to being in the present. This openness to the present moment allows for deep engagement and participation in experience that can furnish a renewed appreciation for life. Second, playful individuals will actively seek out spaces at the edge of their own abilities and will therefore be more likely to grow and develop in their skills and relationships in ways that contribute to their living a good life. Finally, playful agents seek out situations in which they can monitor, observe, and learn from their own affective responses to uncertainty. Thus, uncertainty becomes something familiar to them that they not only learn to tolerate but also enjoy positively exploring, in ways that provide them opportunities to grow. For these three reasons, we will argue that playfulness and openness to experiences of uncertainty and the unknown may be important ingredients in human flourishing.

Well-being and internal resources during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to meaning in life and existential anxiety.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an event that placed humanity in a context where confrontation with uncertainty, isolation, life threats, and significant changes in one's life were on a scale that exceeded by far any previous individual or community crises. The interest of the present research was to investigate the relationship between meaning in life (MiL) and existential anxiety (EA) with personal internal resources such as creativity, playfulness, well-being, and personal meaning. A total of 451 participants from 48 countries (mean age 34.93 years, standard deviation 12.62, 31.9% men, 67.4% women) were questioned via online questionnaires between May and June 2020. Cluster analysis was performed on the meaning in life and existential anxiety that generated four categories of persons: Reactive, Superficial, Preoccupied, and Dedicated. Well-being and internal resources were associated mostly with the Dedicated type and less with the Reactive one. Arguments relying on the existential positive psychology suffering model and the hostile world scenario are presented to support the results and plead for interventions that elicit meaning, stimulate creativity, and guide people in finding purpose in order to ultimately promote psychological and mental health.

A study on how to improve users' perceived playfulness in and continuance intention with VR technology to paint in virtual natural landscapes.

COVID-19 has adversely affected public access to public green spaces. As a means of interacting with nature, parks and green spaces are an important aspect of residents' daily lives. In this study, the focus is on new digital solutions, such as the experience of painting in virtual natural settings through virtual reality technologies. This study examines factors that affect the user's perceived playfulness and continuance intention to paint in a virtual environment. A total of 732 valid samples were collected through a questionnaire survey, and a theoretical model was developed through structural equation model by analyzing attitude, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, continuance intention, and perceived playfulness. Results demonstrate that perceived novelty and perceived sustainability increase the positive attitude of users toward VR painting functions, whereas perceived interactivity and aesthetics have no impact on it within VR painting context. As users use VR painting, they are more concerned about time and money than equipment compatibility. This makes resource facilitating conditions a more influential factor for perceived behavior control than technology facilitating conditions.

Non-Intrusive Maternal Style as a Mediator between Playfulness and Children's Development for Low-Income Chilean Adolescent Mothers.

The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between low-income Chilean adolescent maternal playfulness and mothers' non-intrusiveness in their children's development and to analyze whether a mother's non-intrusiveness mediates the relationship between maternal playfulness and children's development. The Parental Playfulness Scale and the Subscale of Intrusiveness from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project were used to assess maternal playfulness and mothers' non-intrusiveness respectively. Ages and Stages Questionnaire 3rd Edition (ASQ-3) was applied to measure the children's communication, gross and fine motor skills, problem-solving and personal-social development. The sample consisted of 79 mother-child dyads with children aged 10-24 months (M = 15.5, SD = 4.2) and their mothers aged 15-21 years old (M = 19.1, SD = 1.7). A bivariate analysis showed that maternal playfulness was significantly associated with communication, fine motor, problem-solving and personal-social development. Moreover, higher levels of communication, fine motor skills and problem-solving development were observed in the children of less intrusive mothers. Maternal playfulness had a significant effect on children's development of language, problem-solving and personal-social skills when their mothers showed less intrusiveness during interaction. These findings contribute to the understanding of the interaction between adolescent mothers and their children. Active play and less intrusiveness can enhance child development.

Do Clowns Really Taste Funny? An Investigation of the Relationship between Humor and Playfulness in Clown Doctors.

Healthcare clowning represents a well-established method for relieving patients and their relatives of discomfort during hospitalization. Although studies concerning the effectiveness of this approach are increasing in number, state-of-the-art studies conducted to evaluate the psychological characteristics of clown doctors are scarce. In this cross-sectional study, a convenient sample of 210 clown doctors (143 females, 67 males) aged between 18 and 75 years (M = 47.34, SD = 12.31) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Comic Styles Markers, and the Short Measure for Adult Playfulness. The results demonstrated that clown doctors bring higher levels of fun, benevolent humor, and nonsense and a lower level of cynicism compared to the populace. Moreover, the participants with more experience tend to use less irony, sarcasm, and cynicism than those with less experience. Playfulness was primarily related to the lighter styles of humor, and specific differences between the Whiteface and the Auguste clown doctors were observed. The results are discussed with reference to previous studies conducted on groups of clown doctors.

O papel da ludicidade como fator estruturante da identidade humana/individualidade / The role of playfulness as a structuring factor of human identity/individuality

Este artigo reflexiona sobre a "ludicidade", seus significados e manifestações, especialmente como "criatividade latente" e função estruturante na constituição da "identidade humana", a partir do desenvolvimento da criança. As referências são em pesquisas pela Neurociência e Psicomotricidade com os paradigmas sistêmicos - corpo e mente integrados. Decorre da experiência pessoal no brincar em brinquedotecas e da prática docente/clínica na Psicopedagogia e Psicologia.

This article presents "ludicity/play-playthings", its meanings and manifestations, especially as "latent creativity" and structuring function in the constitution of "human identity/individuality", from child development The references are in research by Neuroscience and Psychomotricity with the systemic paradigms - integrated body and mind. It stems from personal experience in playing in toy libraries and from teaching/clinical practice in Psychopedagogy/Psychology.

Effects of Physical Education Playfulness on Academic Grit and Attitude toward Physical Education in Middle School Students in The Republic of Korea.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of playability in secondary physical education classes in Korea on academic grit and attitudes toward physical education. A total of 296 middle school students located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Korea were surveyed via simple random sampling. Data were analyzed via descriptive statistical analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and standard multiple regression analysis. Three primary results were obtained. First, playfulness was found to have a significant positive effect on academic grit. Specifically, mental spontaneity positively and significantly affected academic passion (ß = 0.400), academic perseverance (ß = 0.298), and consistency of academic interest (ß = 0.297). Additionally, among the sub-variables of playfulness, humorous perspective was found to have a positive significant effect on maintaining consistency of academic interest (ß = 0.255). The second primary finding was that playfulness had a significant positive effect on classroom attitudes to physical education. Specifically, physical animation and emotional fluidity were found to positively and significantly affect basic attitudes (ß = 0.290 and 0.330, respectively) and social attitudes (ß = 0.398 and 0.297, respectively). Third, academic grit was found to have a significant positive effect on PE classroom attitudes. Specifically, academic passion was found to have a positive and significant effect on basic attitudes (ß = 0.427) and social attitude (ß = 0.358). The results imply that attitude toward school life can be improved through physical activity in secondary physical education classes.

Playing Playfully to Overcome Adversity: A Telehealth-Based Group Teacher Training Program.

Teacher's exposure to childhood adversity may lead to secondary stress compromising child-teacher interactions. Our telehealth-delivered teacher group program focused on play and playfulness in the classroom and stress management for teachers. Program manual and fidelity checklist were developed, and program's fidelity was assessed through manual adherence and participants attendance and satisfaction. Five participants attended the program, and five occupational therapy students served as fidelity raters. Rater agreement levels confirmed that the checklist was sufficiently developed to capture the program's essential elements. Follow-up interviews indicated that the program equipped participants with new skills and validated their existing knowledge/experience while offering tangible learning materials. Teachers' stress can be mitigated by providing them with a safe space to learn skills to promote playfulness in the classroom and to share with and support each other. The manualization of our program and fidelity checklist can guide the development of similar interventions.

The effect of medical/therapeutic clowns on the playfulness of children with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Play is an essential component of children's development. Children with intellectual disability tend to have poor socioemotional abilities and impaired play. This study examined the effects of a medical/therapeutic clowning play intervention on the playfulness of children with intellectual disability. METHOD: Two medical clowns facilitated a play intervention in a preschool classroom setting with a total of 52 children with intellectual disability. We compared before and after two groups that received the intervention: group 1 met the medical clowns once a week for 6 months (long-intervention group) and group 2 for 3 months (short intervention group). Children's functioning was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales. Children's playfulness was scored using the Test of Playfulness observational assessment. A teachers' focus- group was used to gather additional information on the clowns' work. RESULTS: Children's playfulness increased significantly at the end of the intervention, whereas the improvement in the playfulness scores of group 1 was significantly larger than those of group 2 (t50  = -4.82, p < .001). The teachers' focus group revealed additional benefits of the medical clowns' work. CONCLUSION: The results shed light on the play and playfulness of children with intellectual disability and the possible contribution of a clowning play intervention to their development.

It's never too late to improvise: The impact of theatre improvisation on elderly population.

Despite the availability of improvisational theater training in different settings, studies that assess its effectiveness as a means for enhancing cognitive training for older adults are scarce. This study examines the influence of short theater improvisation exercises on the cognitive flexibility of cognitively-healthy older adults, and their influence on the four core components of improvisation (i.e., spontaneity, flow, creativity, playfulness). The study also examines the correlation between an improvement in these four key agents and an improvement in cognitive flexibility among older adults. This quantitative empirical study was conducted in retirement homes and daycare centers in Israel. A total of 45 participants took part in this study, all in good physical health and with age-appropriate cognitive abilities. The participants were divided into five research groups; each group met twice a week for a one-hour improvisation session over a six-week period. The data was collected through five questionnaires that were completed at four points of time (before, during, and after the workshop). The findings did not indicate a significant effect of the improvisation exercises on the participants' cognitive flexibility, yet they did show improvement in three components of improvisation: spontaneity, flow, playfulness. As such, the findings of this study indicate that despite a normal decline in basic cognitive functioning among older adults, the beneficial effect of improvisation on cognitive flexibility might still occur through spontaneity, playfulness, and flow. In conclusion, short theater improvisation exercises could contribute to various indicators of healthy aging in various settings.