Read complete books and articles on: Psychology of Play

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: Psychology of Play

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Sports, Games, and Play: Social and Psychological Viewpoints » Read Now
by Jeffrey H. Goldstein. 386 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library
2.

Play of Man (1901) » Read Now
by Karl Groos, Elizabeth L. Baldwin. 424 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library
3.

Play World: The Emergence of the New Ludenic Age » Read Now
by James E. Combs. 171 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Should we take the idea of play seriously? Since the publication of Huizinga's Homo Ludens in 1938, a provocative literature has developed in philosophy and social science that does. Combs argues that we should understand play both as a generic concept with considerable power to explain human...
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Should we take the idea of play seriously? Since the publication of Huizinga's Homo Ludens in 1938, a provocative literature has developed in philosophy and social science that does. Combs argues that we should understand play both as a generic concept with considerable power to explain human activity, and as a contemporary "procept" that demystifies some of the puzzling trends and innovations emerging in the quickly developing new social world of the 21st century.
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4.

Leisure Experience and Human Development: A Dialectical Interpretation » Read Now
by Douglas A. Kleiber. 190 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

Using a life-span development approach, this text explores the relevance of leisure experience (play, sport, happiness, quality of life, and well-being) to optimum human development.
5.

Introduction to Play Therapy » Read Now
by Ann Cattanach. 200 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library

This title provides a basic grounding in play therapy intervention, answering questions such as: who can play therapy help, what are the best settings for play therapy, and how should you train in play therapy?
6.

Play and Exploration in Children and Animals » Read Now
by Thomas G. Power. 497 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library
7.

Play in Child Development and Psychotherapy: Toward Empirically Supported Practice » Read Now
by Sandra W. Russ. 181 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library

Child psychotherapy is in a state of transition. On the one hand, pretend play is a major tool of therapists who work with children. On the other, a mounting chorus of critics claims that play therapy lacks demonstrated treatment efficacy. These complaints are not invalid. Clinical research has only...
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Child psychotherapy is in a state of transition. On the one hand, pretend play is a major tool of therapists who work with children. On the other, a mounting chorus of critics claims that play therapy lacks demonstrated treatment efficacy. These complaints are not invalid. Clinical research has only begun. Extensive studies by developmental researchers have, however, strongly supported the importance of play for children. Much knowledge is being accumulated about the ways in which play is involved in the development of cognitive, affective, and personality processes that are crucial for adaptive functioning. However, there has been a yawning gap between research findings and useful suggestions for practitioners. Play in Child Development and Psychotherapy represents the first effort to bridge the gap and place play therapy on a firmer empirical foundation. Sandra Russ applies sophisticated contemporary understanding of the role of play in child development to the work of mental health professionals who are trying to design intervention and prevention programs that can be empirically evaluated. Never losing sight of the complex problems that face child therapists, she integrates clinical and developmental research and theory into a comprehensive, up-to-date review of current approaches to conceptualizing play and to doing both therapeutic play work with children and the assessment that necessarily precedes and accompanies it. The book includes a presentation of Russ's recently revised Affect in Play Scale and, in an appendix, a complete manual for it. Clinicians, trainees, and students will welcome Russ's clear guidelines for empirically supported practice; researchers will appreciate her suggestions for new directions to explore.
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8.

Minds in Play: Computer Game Design as a Context for Children's Learning » Read Now
by Yasmin B. Kafai. 339 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library
9.

Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence » Read Now
by Genard Jones. 256 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

Children choose their heroes more carefully than we think. From Pokemon to the rapper Eminem, pop-culture icons are not simply commercial pied pipers who practice mass hypnosis on our youth. Indeed, argues the author of this lively and persuasive paean to the power of popular culture, even violent...
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Children choose their heroes more carefully than we think. From Pokemon to the rapper Eminem, pop-culture icons are not simply commercial pied pipers who practice mass hypnosis on our youth. Indeed, argues the author of this lively and persuasive paean to the power of popular culture, even violent and trashy entertainment gives children something they need, something that can help both boys and girls develop in a healthy way. Drawing on a wealth of true stories, many gleaned from the fascinating workshops he conducts, and basing his claims on extensive research, including interviews with psychologists and educators, Gerard Jones explains why validating our children's fantasies teaches them to trust their own emotions, helps them build stronger selves, leaves them less at the mercy of the pop-culture industry, and strengthens parent-child bonds.
Jones has written for the Spider-Man, Superman, and X-Men comic books and created the Haunted Man series for the Web. He has also explored the cultural meanings of comic books and sitcoms in two well-received books. In Killing Monsters he presents a fresh look at children's fantasies, the entertainment industry, and violence in the modern imagination. This reassuring book, as entertaining as it is provocative, offers all of us -- parents, teachers, policymakers, media critics -- new ways to understand the challenges and rewards of explosive material.
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10.

Curiosity, Imagination, and Play: On the Development of Spontaneous Cognitive and Motivational Processes » Read Now
by Dietmar Logan Gorlitz, Joachim F. Wohlwill. 419 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library
11.

Preschoolers' Emotional Competence: Links to Pretend and Physical Play, in Child Study Journal » Read Now
by Malinda J. Colwell, Eric W. Linsey. 14 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library
12.

Children's Verbalizations and Cheating Behavior during Game Playing: The Role of Sociometric Status, Aggression, and Gender, in Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology » Read Now
by Julie A. Hubbard, Ronnie M. Rubin. 14 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library
13.

Toy Selection for Children: Personality and Toy Request Influences, in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research » Read Now
by Donna Fisher-Thompson, Angela D. Sausa, Terri F. Wright. 17 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library
14.

Characteristics of Boys' and Girls' Toys, in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research » Read Now
by Judith E. Owen Blakemore, Renee E. Centers. 15 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library
15.

Superhero Toys and Boys' Physically Active and Imaginative Play, in Journal of Research in Childhood Education » Read Now
by Nina Howe, Amy Parsons. 14 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library