Enactive account of pretend play and its application to therapy.
Zuzanna Rucińska, Ellen Reijmers
Frontiers in Psychology January 1, 2015 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00175 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe paper presents the enactive account of pretend play (EAPP), a non-standard philosophical view that describes pretend play as arising from interaction and affordances rather than from internal mental representations. This re-characterization helps explain how shared meanings and interaction function in systemic therapies, where play is used to enhance dialog rather than to uncover hidden meanings. The authors conclude by connecting insights from therapeutic practice with philosophical analysis.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Dialog Enactivism Play Pretend Systemic therapy |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key finding | Proposes that pretend play can be understood without invoking mental representational mechanisms, focusing instead on interaction and affordances, which may inform systemic therapeutic practices. |
Abstract
This paper informs therapeutic practices that use play, by providing a non-standard philosophical account of pretense: the enactive account of pretend play (EAPP). The EAPP holds that pretend play activity need not invoke mental representational mechanisms; instead, it focuses on interaction and the role of affordances in shaping pretend play activity. One advantage of this re-characterization of pretense is that it may help us better understand the role of shared meanings and interacting in systemic therapies, which use playing to enhance dialog in therapy rather than to uncover hidden meanings. We conclude with bringing together findings from therapeutic practice and philosophical considerations.