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Cited by 77Personality Traits and PsychologyCreativity in Education and NeuroscienceHumor Studies and Applications

Examining playfulness in adults: Testing its correlates with personality, positive psychological functioning, goal aspirations, and multi-methodically assessed ingenuity

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Proyer, Rene T·2012·Pabst Science Publishers
DOI 10.5167/uzh-63532
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Abstract

The prime aim of this set of studies was to test the disposition to play (playfulness) in adults in its relation with various measures of personality but also ability (self-estimated but also psychometri- cally measured ingenuity). Study 1 (n = 180) shows that adults playfulness relates primarily to extraversion, lower conscientiousness, and higher endorsements of culture; joy of being laughed at (gelotophilia) and agreeableness were also predictive in a regression analysis; Study 2 (n = 264) shows that playfulness relates primarily to a high expectation of intrinsic and a low expectation of extrinsic goals as well as greater intrinsic and lower extrinsic importance of goals (for expressive and fun-variants of playfulness); Study 3 (n = 212) shows that playfulness relates to greater self- perception of one’s degree of ingenuity and psychometric ingenuity correlated primarily with greater spontaneous and creative variants of playfulness (in about the same range for origence and fluidity of the productions). Overall, the findings were in line with the expectations and could stimulate further studies of playfulness in adults.

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  • Play and playful interactions facilitate bonding, trust, and emotional closeness in both childhood and adulthood.

    “Play and playful interactions facilitate bonding, trust, and emotional closeness in both childhood and adulthood (Barnett, 1991;Proyer, 2012Proyer, , 2014a;;Whitebread et al., 2012).”

    From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Proyer, 2012

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports an association between adult playfulness and aspirations toward good relations. It does not show that playful interactions facilitate bonding, trust, or emotional closeness, and it does not establish those effects in children. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Adult playfulness is linked to positive psychological outcomes, including life satisfaction, positive affect, and reduced depressive symptoms.

    “This finding is consistent with a substantial body of research linking adult playfulness to positive psychological outcomes, including life satisfaction, positive affect, and reduced depressive symptoms (Proyer, 2012(Proyer, , 2014b;;Proyer et al., 2021;Brauer et al., 2024).”

    From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Proyer, 2012

    The Results report higher life satisfaction for people with fun and creative forms of playfulness, and the General discussion says playfulness may elicit positive emotions. It also says overall playfulness was independent of life satisfaction. Neither passage establishes reduced depressive symptoms; pages are not specified in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • In adult relationships, playfulness is associated with greater relationship satisfaction, perceived partner responsiveness, and more constructive conflict management.

    “In adult relationships, playfulness has been associated with greater relationship satisfaction, perceived partner responsiveness, and more constructive conflict management (Brauer et al., 2024;Proyer, 2012Proyer, , 2014aProyer, , 2017;;Proyer & Brauer, 2018).”

    From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Proyer, 2012

    The Results report greater life satisfaction for adults who pursued fun and creative playfulness, but life satisfaction is not relationship satisfaction. Searches for partner responsiveness, relationship satisfaction, and conflict management found no passage in this copy addressing those relationship outcomes; the Discussion mentions relationships only as a possible area for future research. No page numbers are available in the indexed passages. (LLM, conf=0.77)

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Authors
Proyer, R. T.
Venue
Pabst Science Publishers
Publisher
Pabst Science Publishers
Published
2012
Volume
54
Issue
2
Pages
103-127
DOI
10.5167/uzh-63532
OpenAlex
W2112979219
Cited by
77
References
162
Citations by year
2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
FWCI
4.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
  • Psychological test and assessment modeling
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Humor Studies and Applications
Keywords
playfulness, adults, personality, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, gelotophilia, positive psychological functioning, intrinsic goals, extrinsic goals, ingenuity, creativity, fluidity

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