why is play important?

Since we launched WOOPAAH we've talked with people/ companies who "got it" and some that didn't. At WOOPAAH we inject a level of playfulness in all that we do not just because it's more fun - but because it works!

First, let's define play. According to Gordon Burkgdart, the leading researcher on the evolution and genesis of play, there are five main criteria:

1. It's done for its own sake - there is no objective or desired outcome in mind.

2. Intrinsic motivation - we are biologically wired to play throughout our entire life. Plus, it's voluntary, spontaneous, contagious, and (like games) rewarding and reinforcing.

3. It feels good - you experience a sense of pleasure and joy in a relaxed field free of other obligations.

4. It's not serious - play disappears under stress or the need to perform.

5. There is no need for perfection - you get messy as you become masterful.  

Play is a sacred design principle and outcome for WOOPAAH. We use scientific research from positive psychology and have found that play is the least-action pathway (fastest and easiest way) to achieving innovation, connection, and positive vibes. The reason why play works so well as an activating force is because it's a natural occurring resource within everyone of us. Everyone wants to do it! And it feels good!  Play offers a safe way for teams to go do what they normally are told not do: be wrong and push boundaries. When there is allowance, in fact, encouragement, to experiment and make mistakes, innovation occurs, guards are let down, and people feel good about themselves.

The very fact that play contains so much nonsense, so much replication, and is so flexible certainly suggests that it is a prime domain for the actualization of whatever the brain contains. And for that matter, speaking in behavioral rather than neurological terms, play is typically a primary place for the expression of anything that is humanly imaginable (Sutton-Smith, 1997, p. 226).

Join us on Saturday's August 11th + 18th  for our latest playful creation, The I SCREAM Truck at 25th street & Park Ave from 7am-1pm.  

Best,

Stella