Miami -
Do we have it wrong? Some of us have derived from scholars and lived experience the view that we lose much
of our playfulness and imaginativeness as we enter adulthood and grow older,
unless we work hard to retain it. We wish that more adults would hold on to
their childhood playfulness while, obviously, also complying with the responsibilities of adulthood. No Peter Pan Syndrome here.
Society’s structures, norms, and prohibitions can seem to remove us from the wonder and wander of childhood imagination, possibilities, and questions of “why” and “what if.” Well, not necessarily. Or so says Occidental College Professor of Psychology Andrew Shtulman in a Wall Street Journal Weekend piece (December 2-3). (The paper was a hotel freebie here.) Shtulman says the opposite condition is often true. “Forty years of research about novel possibilities reveals that the glorification of children’s imagination is misguided,” he writes.
Citing works from the Journal of Cognition and Development as well as Developmental Science, and undertaking his own primary research, he adds, “Children are no more imaginative than adults. Quite often, they are less imaginative. That is because, while children have the capacity to contemplate hypothetical ideas and counterfactual events, they do not have the knowledge or expertise to use that capacity as effectively as adults.” This makes sense. As Shtulman further adds, “Imagination, like any other faculty, has to be developed and refined through years of practice.
A key aspect of critical-thinking adulthood is to be willing and able to hold two competing or somewhat contradictory views in mind; indeed, to accept that both of them can be true and false in different ways and varying degrees. Such is the case here. Yes, societal expectations can dampen playfulness, wonderment, and inquisitiveness for many adults, if we let it happen. So, don’t let it happen. On the other hand, adults are far better equipped than children to contextualize and productively channel the powers of childlike imagination. It happens everyday in art, science, and business.
Still, consider how much better off we could be if even more people were “allowed” and even encouraged to play with concepts, words, tools, and technologies. We're getting better at this as a society, but we still have a great distance to travel.
The scholarly field of adult play and imaginativeness is growing and helping us get there. There is a Journal of Play in Adulthood to advance understanding of its meaning and importance as well as a National Institute of Play focused on the many benefits of lifelong play.
Imagine that! And it's all coming to you from one of the world's capitals of adult play, Miami.
Image courtesy of Phil McKinney.