11. Sep 2020
Playfulness can be trained – here’s why you should do it
Here you find the doctoral student’s profile of Kay Brauer. He published results of his doctoral studies at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and shared the research more widely with a press release.
About the author:
- Kay Brauer
- ORCHID ID, ResearchGate, Twitter
- Research area(s): Psychological Assessment and Personality Psychology
- Institute of Psychology, MLU
Field(s) of expertise during doctoral studies:
- Individual differences in dealing with ridicule and being laughed at
- Adult Playfulness
- Romantic relationships
- Interpersonal perception of personality traits
Curriculum Vitae
- Doctoral studies in the research group “Psychological Assessment and Differential Psychology” of Prof. Dr. René Proyer at MLU
- Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology at MLU in 2013 (BSc) and 2015 (MSc)
Challenges, rewards and contribution
Q: What was your most important contribution to the publication?
A: I contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data as well as to derive the conclusions about our findings on which basis we discussed the implications of our study.
Q: What was challenging and what was a rewarding moment during your work presented in the publication?
A: The study was generally rewarding because we extended our groundwork on adult playfulness by testing whether changes in participants’ playfulness contribute to well-being and decreases depressive symptoms in our sample. This allows us to gain a better knowledge on the positive consequences of being playful in everyday life and that the German notion of playfulness as being a childish trait should be revised.
Significance of publication
Simple exercises can help to make people more playful and consequently feel more satisfied with their lives. Researchers had participants in an experiment perform a week of exercises to boost their playfulness. They found that the trait can be stimulated and trained – and that this improves a person’s mood.
from press release no. 121/2020 of August 27, 2020.
Related publication
Proyer R.T., Gander F., Brauer K., Chick G.
Can Playfulness be Stimulated? A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Online Playfulness Intervention Study on Effects on Trait Playfulness, Well-Being, and Depression.
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2020). doi:10.1111/aphw.12220
About this profile
Doctoral students contribute significantly to publications highlighted by the MLU press office in many cases. These early stage researchers and their work in connection with the publication are in the focus of these profiles. Please check further doctoral student’s profiles.
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