Sociological Benefits of Play

In order to begin to examine the sociological benefits of play it must first be acknowledged that empirical evidence for the functional role of play is limited. Consequently play is not an embedded mainstream area of research in psychology, biology, or the social sciences.

Nevertheless, published findings of observational and correlational studies of human play behavior have contributed to the increasingly widely held assertion that play is an essential element of human biological, cultural, and sociological development; a base of civilization; a function of evolutionary necessity; and therefore an important component of our understanding of human social behavior. This entry examines some of these findings and associated assertions in order to [Page 663]begin to establish an understanding of the sociological function and benefits of play in humans.

Play as a human behavior, and particularly a behavior of children, has attracted much speculation and competing discourse as to its purpose. Over the last century many explanations have been sought and proposed without a unanimous understanding being reached. According to many contemporary writers and theorists this lack of unanimity is a consequence of the inherent ambiguity and paradoxical nature of play, which makes it such an important developmental and scientific phenomenon.

Indeed, according to Burghardt, an understanding of how to better shape the future of human society is dependant on our reaching an understanding of the function and nature of play. Although some of these competing discourses and ambiguities will be touched upon later in the entry, space prohibits anything approaching a definitive account. Therefore, two broad positions of prominence will be offered for discussion within this section.

The first of these positions is founded in an understanding or discourse of children's play, which tends to occupy a position of dominance in Western societies, at least. This is the understanding, referred to by Brian Sutton-Smith as the Progress Rhetoric, which views play as an instrument of learning, development, and preparation for adulthood. Within this discourse, play is viewed and encouraged in the social policy context as a means of, among other things, supporting academic achievement and social development, improving health, reducing crime, and developing social cohesion. However, these sociological benefits of play, when viewed from this instrumental perspective, are both deferred, i.e., they are benefits for the future and are dependent on adult intervention, guidance, and measurement.

This view contrasts subtly but distinctly with the position founded in the discourse of play, which understands the process as an intrinsically motivated biological process that carries immediate benefits for its own sake rather than from its supposed outcome-oriented developmental function. Whereas the sociological benefits of play when viewed from this position may not be measured or identified in concrete terms of increased academic/professional success, improved health/longevity, or stronger communities, they are recognized in terms of the general well-being and healthy adjustment of the child, which is critically determined by the play process. Furthermore this intrinsic perspective views play as a process, without adult intervention or guidance, by which children come to understand concepts, constructs, and functions of adult society.

Whether or not one recognizes the function of play as instrumental or intrinsic, or the sociological benefits as deferred or immediate, those benefits of play become particularly apparent when contrasted with the potential effects of what some experts propose as play-deprivation. As with much theorizing in the field of play there is an absence of empirical data to substantiate the play-deprivation hypothesis. However, studies do show that the consequences of a lack of interaction with the world and others, implied by the notion of play deprivation, may be extremely detrimental to the individual and society.

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