Research Articles

Author(s): Burghardt, G.M., Bartmess-Levasseur, J.N., Browning, S.A., Morrison, K.E., Stec, C.L., Zachau, C.E., Freeberg, T.M.
NIFP Rating: 4

Since the 1970s, texts on research methods in animal behavior advocate that researchers minimize potential observer bias in their studies. One way to minimize possible bias is to record or score behavioral data blind to treatment, group, or individual. Another way to reduce bias is for researchers to analyze subsets or entire sets of data […]

Author(s): Innocent, T., Leorke, D.
NIFP Rating: 4

Location-based games use smartphones and other location-aware devices to incorporate their players’ actions in everyday, physical spaces – the streets and public spaces of the city – into the virtual world of the game. Scholars and designers of these games often claim that they reconfigure their players’ relationship with the people and environment around them. […]

Author(s): Dymek, M.
NIFP Rating: 4

This article explores the gamification trend sweeping the globe promising increased engagement and motivation, in practically any industry, context and culture, based on a stratagem of “game design elements in non-game contexts, ” which is its most quoted definition [Deterding, Sebastian, Miguel Sicart, Lennart Nacke, Kenton O’Hara, and Dan Dixon. 2011. “Gamification-Using Game-Design Elements in […]

Author(s): Hu, X., Zheng, Q., Lee, G.T.
NIFP Rating: 4

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a peer-mediated LEGO® play intervention on improving social skills for children with ASD in an inclusive preschool in China. Three boys with ASD and 13 typically developing children participated in this study. A multiple-probe across participants design was used. The intervention consisted of LEGO® construction […]

Author(s): Daftary, S.S., J. Panksepp, Dong, Y., Saal, D.B.
NIFP Rating: 4

Stress facilitates development of addictive behaviors in part by stress-induced increase in the strength of glutamatergic synapses at dopamine (DA) neurons within the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Here, we further demonstrate that this stress-induced synaptic adaptation is glucocorticoid-dependent and is progressively developed. Activation of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) either by in vivo injection of dexamethasone (Dex) […]

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Author(s): Kleppe, R.
NIFP Rating: 4

Despite increased interest in children’s risk-taking in play, little is known of this aspect considering children under three years. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the concept of scaffolding to potentially describe patterns in staff-child interaction in 1-3-year-olds’ risky play. Empirical data were taken from an exploratory study, executed as a focused ethnography with multiple […]

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Author(s): Braund, M., Ahmed, Z.
NIFP Rating: 4

Two volunteer BEd student teachers in their fourth year of a BEd degree at a metropolitan university in the Western Cape of South Africa designed and taught lessons to two classes of the same age and ability in grade 7 (ages 12-13), using drama role-plays (intervention) and more conventional non-drama methods (control). Lessons were observed […]

Author(s): Brown, G.L., Mangelsdorf, S.C., Shigeto, A., Wong, M.S.
NIFP Rating: 4

This study examined associations between father involvement and father- child attachment security, and whether those associations differed as a function of timing (workday and nonworkday) and/or type (accessibility, caregiving, and play) of involvement. Eighty father- child dyads participated when children were approximately 3 years old. Fathers completed a time diary interview assessing the various forms […]

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Author(s): Youmans, A.S., Kirby, J.R., Freeman, J.G.
NIFP Rating: 4

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten (FDELK) programme, which integrates play-based learning and team teaching, in promoting 32,027 kindergarteners’ self-regulation (SR), literacy, and numeracy outcomes. Outcome measures derived from teacher reports of students’ school readiness in the Early Development Instrument were analysed in separate hierarchical regression analyses that controlled for […]

Author(s): Burghardt, G.M.
NIFP Rating: 4

An examination of the writings of 19th and early 20th century comparative psychologists indicates that they were well aware of many of the issues raised by the recent “cognitivism ” in psychology and ethology. George John Romanes and C. Lloyd Morgan are particularly underappreciated. A survey of current lay attitudes on mental continuity between humans […]

Author(s): Burghardt, G.M.
NIFP Rating: 4

This plausible group-selection model should aid the conceptual integration of the natural and social sciences, but testing in vertebrates is needed. The history of the vehicles-of-selection debate is compared with the controversy over the readmission of innate behavior and genetics to a respectable position in behavioral study. In the spirit of Wilson & Sober a […]

Author(s): Lean, J., Illingworth, S., Wake, P.
NIFP Rating: 4

In this article, we argue that tabletop games provide a helpful means of rethinking the affordances of digital games in pedagogy. We argue that tabletop games offer a distinctive technology from digital games in exploring the idea of play as experience, providing a sociable, accessible and tactile platform that can easily be adapted by players […]

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Author(s): Driediger, M., Vanderloo, L.M., Burke, S.M., Irwin, J.D., Gaston, A., Timmons, B.W., Johnson, A.M., Tucker, P.
NIFP Rating: 4

This study describes the process evaluation of the Supporting Physical Activity in the Childcare Environment (SPACE) intervention, consisting of educator physical activity training, provision of portable play equipment, and a modified outdoor schedule (i.e., 4 â—Š 30-minute periods). Educators (N = 49) from 11 childcare centers in London, Ontario, Canada, delivered the 8-week intervention to […]

Author(s): Iacobucci, P., Colonnello, V., Fuchs, T., D’Antuono, L., J. Panksepp
NIFP Rating: 4

Objective Preclinical models of human mood disorders commonly focus on the study of negative affectivity, without comparably stressing the role of positive affects and their ability to promote resilient coping styles. We evaluated the role of background constitutional affect of rats by studying the separation and reunion responses of infants from low and high positive […]

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Author(s): Jelleyman, C., McPhee, J., Brussoni, M., Bundy, A., Duncan, S.
NIFP Rating: 4

The potential for risky play and independent mobility to increase children’s physical activity, and enhance cognitive development and emotional wellbeing has been recognised for some time. The aim of this study was to describe the attitudes of New Zealand parents towards such risky play practices and independent mobility, the barriers preventing them from allowing their […]

Author(s): J. Burgdorf, J. Panksepp, M.C. Beinfeld, R.A. Kroes, J.R. Moskal
NIFP Rating: 4

Brain cholecystokinin (CCK) levels have been shown to be elevated in animals defeated during adult social aggression. The present experiment evaluated whether similar effects are evident in prolonged bouts of juvenile social-play fighting, which tend to switch from largely positive to some negative affect after approximately 15 min into a half-hour play session, as indexed […]

Author(s): Lee, G.T., Feng, H., Xu, S., Jin, S.-J.
NIFP Rating: 4

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may not develop symbolic play skills, so such skills need to be taught specifically. We report an experiment regarding a procedure targeting “object-substitution ” symbolic play skills. The “object-substitution ” symbolic play behavior occurred when the child labeled a common object with the name of a substitute and used […]

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Author(s): Cohen, E., Gadassi, R.
NIFP Rating: 4

Purpose of Review: The objectives were to identify specific characteristics and patterns of children’s play following events of political violence or disasters, examine their associations with risk and resilience, and explore their implications for preventive and therapeutic intervention. Recent Findings: Patterns of individual, dyadic, and social play are associated with measures of children’s adaptation following […]

Author(s): Lin, T.-C.
NIFP Rating: 4

The author examined whether game play improves students’ comprehension, attendance, and exam performance. The author designed three games; 120 students in introductory microeconomics classes participated in these experiments. The evidence showed that game play enhances students’ attendance, comprehension, and exam performance. It also showed that attendance and exam performance are positively correlated, implying that game […]

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Author(s): Henderson, Tara Zollinger, Atencio, David J.
NIFP Rating: 4

This paper examines important factors in maximizing children’s experiential learning in the context of inquiry-based children’s museums. Learning is understood as situated in physical, social, and interactive context that is best achieved when children have opportunities to engage in play-based inquiry. Recommendations for maximizing children’s learning in museums, supporting children’s interactions with peers and adults, […]

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