The Role of Imaginative Play in the Life of Children

Over the past few decades, researchers in the field of education and child psychology have amassed evidence for the necessity of play in children’s lives. As children play, they develop critical cognitive, emotional, social, and physical skills — skills that set the stage for future learning and success. They learn to regulate their behavior, lay the foundations for later learning in science and mathematics, figure out the complex negotiations of social relationships, build a repertoire of creative problem solving skills, and more. This talk will review the latest research on the crucial role of imaginative play for optimal development, well-being, and creativity.

Scott Barry Kaufman is scientific director of the Imagination Institute in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Kaufman investigates the measurement and development of intelligence, creativity, and personality. He is the author of Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined and co-author (with Carolyn Gregoire) of the upcoming book Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (Penguin, 2015). Kaufman is also host of The Psychology Podcast, co-founder of The Creativity Post, and author of the column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American. Kaufman completed his doctorate in cognitive psychology from Yale University in 2009 and received his master’s degree in experimental psychology from Cambridge University in 2005, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. In the Spring of 2015, he will be teaching Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.