The Adult Playfulness Scale: An Initial Assessment

Abstract

We develop a theory-based measure of adults' playfulness, the Adult Playfulness Scale. Five studies, conducted in laboratory and field sites with over 300 individuals, examine the psychometric properties and correlates of playfulness. As expected, playfulness relates to a set of psychological traits, including cognitive spontaneity and creativity, as well as to functional orientation and rank. No definitive relationships were found, however, between adults' playfulness and gender or age, but playfulness related positively to work outcomes, including task evaluations, perceptions, involvement, and performance, and provided more predictive efficacy than other psychological constructs studied here. Finally, the Adult Playfulness Scale demonstrates good reliability and shows promise for the study of playfulness in the workplace.