Author(s): Gray, P.
Journal Title: Encyclopedia of Play Science
NIFP Rating: 
9
Play is not neatly defined in terms of any single characteristic; instead, it involves a constellation of characteristics, which have to do with the motives or mental framework underlying the observed behavior. After analyzing multiple sources of play definitions, the author concludes that essentially all of the descriptors of human play used by prominent play scholars can be boiled down to the five described below.
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