Can Playfulness be Stimulated? A Randomised Placebo‐Controlled Online Playfulness Intervention Study on Effects on Trait Playfulness, Well‐Being, and Depression

“The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977; German version by Hautzinger et al., 2012) is a 20-item measure for the assessment of the frequency and intensity of depressive symptoms in the past week.”

“The “using your signature strengths in a new way” intervention (Seligman et al., 2005) requires participants to complete a subjective measure of 24 strengths of character (i.e. morally positively valued traits) and to use those ranked highest (rank ordering of the strengths is used as an…”

“…colleagues (2005) showed that the use of self-administered online interventions is associated with an increase in well-being and amelioration of depression, a finding that has been well replicated across a large number of studies (see meta-analyses by Bolier et al., 2013; Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).”

“…colleagues (2005) showed that the use of self-administered online interventions is associated with an increase in well-being and amelioration of depression, a finding that has been well replicated across a large number of studies (see meta-analyses by Bolier et al., 2013; Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).”

“Taking questions of the person 9 activity fit into account, we will test whether those who are comparatively high in playfulness to begin with benefit more from the activities (cf. Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013).”

“For example, the trait activation theory (Tett & Guterman, 2000) proposes that engaging in trait-relevant situations plays a role in the expression of trait-related behaviors; for example, to engage in behaviors related to Other-directed playfulness, a social situation is required (e.g. to tease…”

“Such resources translate into greater odds of survival and reproductive success” (Fredrickson, 2003, p. 333).”

“The latter would also allow for examining whether the interventions only affected evaluations of one’s playfulness, or also actual experiences of playfulness (e.g. Kahneman & Riis, 2005).”

“Finally, Otake et al. (2006) demonstrated that a simple “counting kindness” intervention had positive effects on well-being in a student sample (in the short term).”

“Recently, Hudson and colleagues (2019; see also Hudson & Fraley, 2015) have shown that there are interindividual differences in people’s desire to change (aspects of) their personality.”

“This is similar to findings on using one’s signature strengths in a new way, for which it was found that participants pursuing this intervention have an intrinsic understanding of how to engage with one’s strengths in everyday types of situations (Gander et al., 2013; Seligman et al., 2005).”

“Using multiple data sources will help to address this problem and disentangle trait variance (i.e. playfulness) from measurement-related variance (i.e. response behaviors; Eid et al., 2003).”

“Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology therefore, then scored higher in the follow-up measures (e.g. French & Sutton, 2010).”

“Other studies have shown that playfulness has high observability and is accessible via self-reports, which is helpful when developing and evaluating playfulness-based interventions (e.g. good convergence between self-ratings and play behaviors or ratings by knowledgeable others; Proyer, 2017; Proyer, Brauer et al., 20…”

“Taking earlier research on PPIs into account (e.g. Gander et al., 2013; Seligman et al., 2005), in particular, the “three good things” and “using your signature strengths in a new way”, interventions have demonstrated an increase in CAN PLAYFULNESS BE STIMULATED?”

“(Guitard et al., 2005), fun (Schaefer & Greenberg, 1997), or consider “manifest joy” as one of its integral components (Lieberman, 1977).”

“…the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated physical fitness (e.g. Proyer, Gander et al., 2018).”

“…the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated physical fitness (e.g. Proyer, Gander et al., 2018).”

“…the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated physical fitness (e.g. Proyer, Gander et al., 2018).”

“diverse topics such as sexual selection (Chick, 2001), education (Barnett, 2018; Boyer, 1997), academic achievement (Proyer, 2011), innovative behaviors at work (Bateson & Martin, 2013), or work engagement (Scharp et al.”

“In fact, the liking of the activity in the sense of an early reactivity (e.g. early increase in wellbeing following the intervention) and voluntary continuation are potent predictors of a successful intervention (Proyer et al., 2015).”

“…such as the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated physical fitness (e.g. Proyer, Gander et…”

“…stability of trait playfulness (Proyer, 2017), previous findings on effects of PPIs (see White et al., 2019), and small effect sizes reported for interventional change of personality traits (e.g. Hudson et al., 2020; Yonatan-Leus et al., 2019), we expect to find effects of small-to-moderate size.”

“Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology (Guitard et al., 2005), fun (Schaefer & Greenberg, 1997), or consider “manifest joy” as one of its integral components (Lieberman, 1977).”

“…to seek and engage in certain situations (e.g. being with others) to allow for expressing playful behaviors as well as to analyse their role in changes in playfulness (e.g. by testing whether frequencies of engaging in trait-relevant situations are related to change; see Scharp et al., 2019).”

“…the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated physical fitness (e.g. Proyer, Gander et al., 2018).”

“Wellenzohn et al. (2016, 2018) have developed a variant that focuses on using humor in a new way.”

“A partial exception may be programs targeting humor (see McGhee, 2010; Ruch & McGhee, 2014) that incorporate playful activities and behaviors.”

“Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology others (see e.g. Ruch et al., 2018), consider objective data (e.g. observations of playful behaviors), or momentary assessments.”

“While most people have an intuitive understanding about what playfulness is (see also Proyer, 2014a), its scientific definition is much more difficult and is a topic of ongoing debate.”

“While most people have an intuitive understanding about what playfulness is (see also Proyer, 2014a), its scientific definition is much more difficult and is a topic of ongoing debate.”

“…of positive psychological functioning such as the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated…”

“Wellenzohn et al. (2016, 2018) have developed a variant that focuses on using humor in a new way.”

“…the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); life satisfaction (Proyer, 2012b, 2013); or self-and other-rated physical fitness (e.g. Proyer, Gander et al., 2018).”

“diverse topics such as sexual selection (Chick, 2001), education (Barnett, 2018; Boyer, 1997), academic achievement (Proyer, 2011), innovative behaviors at work (Bateson & Martin, 2013), or work engagement (Scharp et al.”

“Proyer et al. (2017) provide information on the validity of the measure and support its usefulness in intervention studies.”

“There is robust correlational evidence that playfulness relates positively to indicators of positive psychological functioning such as the three basic orientations to happiness and happiness (Proyer, 2012b, 2014b); positive affect (Barnett, 2011); relationship satisfaction (Aune & Wong, 2002; Proyer et al., 2019); lif…”

“diverse topics such as sexual selection (Chick, 2001), education (Barnett, 2018; Boyer, 1997), academic achievement (Proyer, 2011), innovative behaviors at work (Bateson & Martin, 2013), or work engagement (Scharp et al.”

“…stability of trait playfulness (Proyer, 2017), previous findings on effects of PPIs (see White et al., 2019), and small effect sizes reported for interventional change of personality traits (e.g. Hudson et al., 2020; Yonatan-Leus et al., 2019), we expect to find effects of small-to-moderate size.”

“Of course, play and occupational therapy already use play(ful) techniques (see e.g. Berger et al., 2018) and there seems to be an increasing interest in the use of playfulness in therapeutic settings (e.g. Versluys, 2017; Yonatan-Leus et al., 2019, 2020).”

“Of course, play and occupational therapy already use play(ful) techniques (see e.g. Berger et al., 2018) and there seems to be an increasing interest in the use of playfulness in therapeutic settings (e.g. Versluys, 2017; Yonatan-Leus et al., 2019, 2020).”

“…playfulness is malleable through minimal interventions (e.g., raising awareness of how one uses playfulness in everyday life; Proyer et al., 2020; Proyer et al., 2021) and it is feasible that one could be stimulated by their partner to be more playful—or, at least, do more playful things and…”

“There is initial evidence that self-administered playfulness-based interventions have the potential to increase subjectively reported levels of playfulness and happiness and ameliorate sub-clinical levels of depressive symptoms (Proyer et al., 2021).”

“…2015), the recent decade has witnessed a growing number of psychological interventions that incorporated play and/or playfulness in nonclinical (e.g. Proyer et al., 2020; West et al., 2017) and clinical settings (e.g., Dobbins et al., 2020; Keisari et al., 2020) to improve adult mental health…”

“For instance, it has been demonstrated that playfulness is associated with positive outcomes such as coping with stress (Magnuson and Barnett 2013), intrinsic motivation (Proyer 2017) and well-being (Proyer et al. 2021).”

“Proyer’s [4] previous study exploring stimulating playfulness demonstrated an ability to stimulate self-reported playfulness in the short term (up to three months).”

“This aligns with findings on the “dark side” of Whimsical playfulness, showing inclinations to the maladaptive traits of disinhibition, antagonism, and detachment (Proyer et al. 2020).”

“All activities, including studying, music, art, and exercise, encompass playfulness, and only people who enjoy these activities perform well in them [19].”

“Playfulness represents a personality trait that predicts individual differences in disposition to engage in play and the tendency to act spontaneously, pleasantly, creatively, voluntarily, and without objectives [19,34,35].”

“For instance, Proyer et al. (2021) developed three separate self-administered interventions on playfulness (e.g., re fl ect and write down playful experiences you have had today), which were all found to generally improve participants ’ playfulness and well-being immediately after the intervention…”

“Recently, training to increase playfulness on the trait level and that to change work designs toward more playfulness have been positively evaluated (Proyer et al., 2021; Scharp et al., 2021).”

“…studying the contribution of playfulness across a variety of life domains such as romantic relationships of different age groups (e.g., Brauer, Proyer et al., 2021; Brauer, Sendatzki et al., 2021; Proyer et al., 2018, 2019) or mental health and well-being (e.g., Farley et al., 2021; Proyer et…”

“A recent randomised placebo-controlled study found that adult playfulness increased following a short online intervention aimed at stimulating playfulness, thus suggesting that adults’ playfulness can be induced (Proyer et al., 2021).”

“Established playfulness training programs with short daily exercises are available 36,57 , and future research could examine their effects on attachment in individuals and couples.”

“Defined as a trait in which individuals (re)frame situations to make them personally interesting, entertaining, or stimulating (Proyer, 2017), adult playfulness can be enhanced through training (Proyer et al., 2021).”

“The OLIW-S (short form of the OLIW questionnaire) measure by Proyer et al. (2020; Hebrew version by Rubinstein et al., 2023a, b) is a 12-item self-report questionnaire that assesses four facets of adult playfulness called other-directed, lighthearted, intellectual, and whimsical playfulness.”

“Indeed, in humans, a playfulness intervention had positive effects on playfulness, wellbeing and depression [87].”

“…brief daily engagement with playful activities (e.g., journaling about three playful experiences or reflecting on daily instances of playfulness), suggests that cultivating playfulness in terms of Proyer’s OLIW-model 11 can be effectively stimulated and may alleviate symptoms of depressiveness 25 .”

“A recent placebo-controlled online intervention study has shown that short (typically setting aside 10 minutes each evening for seven consecutive days) activities designed to foster playfulness result in increased (self-rated) individual levels of playfulness for up to three months after completion of the activity [53…”

“Furthermore, Proyer et al. (26) extended these findings with two studies focusing on the OLIW facets of playfulness as well as objective criteria of fitness.”

“In spite of the vagueness of these exercises, this intervention had small, short-term positive effects on well-being and depressive symptoms across numerous instruments [32].”

“Studies employing trait-based measures of adult playfulness, including the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale (APTS), have demonstrated consistent positive associations with global well-being indices and mental health outcomes (Proyer et al., 2021; Shen et al., 2017).”

“The results also reinforce the importance of institutional support in maintaining wellbeing; schools that embed emotional skills training within broader professional development frameworks are more likely to sustain positive outcomes (Proyer et al., 2020).”

“Online interventions (e.g., Proyer et al., 2021) can also be used to foster parents’ and teachers’ playfulness, strengthen school–family partnerships, and promote children’s holistic development.”

“…functionally cause “fun and laughter” (Barabadi et al., 2022) it also aligns with studies that more playful people have higher reported positive emotions in life (Farley et al., 2021; Tonkin and Whitaker, 2019) and playfulness interventions cause increases in positive affect (Proyer et al., 2021).”