Play Personalities
What Are Your Play Personalities?
As we mature, we develop a style or mode in which we are most comfortable being playful. Dr. Brown calls these styles of playfulness, “play personalities.” These are not based on scientific data, rather Dr. Brown discerned them from thousands of interviews and observations. He’s identified eight primary play personality types described below. Most people tend to have one dominant play personality type and one or two minor types.
Find Your Play Personality
Therapist Lindsay Braman created a quiz based on Dr. Brown’s Play Personalities, called Play Styles. Click here to take her Play Style quiz! Additional resources about play personalities are listed at the bottom of this page!
The Collector
The thrill of play for the collector is to have and to hold an interesting collection of objects or experiences — coins, toy trains, antiques, wine, shoes, videos of race car crashes, or pieces of the crashed cars themselves. Collections of most anything can trigger this personality into a play state. A person who travels the world to see solar eclipses — which might seem like the action of an explorer — but whose joy derives from her methodically collected evidence of each eclipse is probably a collector.
Collectors may enjoy collecting as a solitary activity, or it may be the focus of an intense social connection with others who share their passion. Jay Leno is exuberant when showing his car collection. Finding cars for his collection and working on them is what he does in his free time to experience the joy of a play state.
The Collector
The thrill of play for the collector is to have and to hold an interesting collection of objects or experiences — coins, toy trains, antiques, wine, shoes, videos of race car crashes, or pieces of the crashed cars themselves. Collections of most anything can trigger this personality into a play state. A person who travels the world to see solar eclipses — which might seem like the action of an explorer — but whose joy derives from her methodically collected evidence of each eclipse is probably a collector.
Collectors may enjoy collecting as a solitary activity, or it may be the focus of an intense social connection with others who share their passion. Jay Leno is exuberant when showing his car collection. Finding cars for his collection and working on them is what he does in his free time to experience the joy of a play state.
The Competitor
The perfect opening gambit, the unbelievable score, the fastest time: Competitors access the euphoria and creativity of play by participating in a competitive game with specific rules. Competitors aren’t playing just for the game; they are playing to win. If games and keeping score are your thing, this may be your primary play personality.
Competitors may enter play state through a single-player video game or by playing a team sport like baseball. They may actively participate in the game or just watch, as a fan. Competitors make themselves known in social groups, where the fun comes from being the top person in the group.
Tom Brady is a classic competitor; his reactions and energy under deep stress — when being rushed by the defense or needing to score with seconds left in the game — show that he is intensely competitive with a keen eye for how to win.
The Competitor
The perfect opening gambit, the unbelievable score, the fastest time: Competitors access the euphoria and creativity of play by participating in a competitive game with specific rules. Competitors aren’t playing just for the game; they are playing to win. If games and keeping score are your thing, this may be your primary play personality.
Competitors may enter play state through a single-player video game or by playing a team sport like baseball. They may actively participate in the game or just watch, as a fan. Competitors make themselves known in social groups, where the fun comes from being the top person in the group.
Tom Brady is a classic competitor; his reactions and energy under deep stress — when being rushed by the defense or needing to score with seconds left in the game — show that he is intensely competitive with a keen eye for how to win.
The Creator/Artist
For the creator/artist, joy is found in making things. Painting, printmaking, woodworking, pottery, and sculpture are well-known activities of creator/artists, but furniture making, knitting, sewing, and gardening are also in their purview. Creator/artists may show their creations to the world or may never show anyone what they make. The point is to make something — to make something beautiful, something functional, something goofy. Or to make something work — the creator/artist may enjoy taking apart a pump, replacing broken parts, cleaning it, and putting back together a shiny, perfectly working mechanism. Creative play could even mean decorating a room or a house.
Michelangelo said he could look at a block of marble and see the statue in it. Matisse experimented with many different forms of fine art in his career, from oil paints and pastels to paper cutouts and stained-glass windows. Steve Jobs was a supreme creator/artist; he stood out in the technology industry because he created products with capabilities ahead of their time packaged in beautiful designs.
The Creator/Artist
For the creator/artist, joy is found in making things. Painting, printmaking, woodworking, pottery, and sculpture are well-known activities of creator/artists, but furniture making, knitting, sewing, and gardening are also in their purview. Creator/artists may show their creations to the world or may never show anyone what they make. The point is to make something — to make something beautiful, something functional, something goofy. Or to make something work — the creator/artist may enjoy taking apart a pump, replacing broken parts, cleaning it, and putting back together a shiny, perfectly working mechanism. Creative play could even mean decorating a room or a house.
Michelangelo said he could look at a block of marble and see the statue in it. Matisse experimented with many different forms of fine art in his career, from oil paints and pastels to paper cutouts and stained-glass windows. Steve Jobs was a supreme creator/artist; he stood out in the technology industry because he created products with capabilities ahead of their time packaged in beautiful designs.
The Director
Directors play by planning; they enjoy planning and executing scenes and events. Though many are unconscious of their motives and style of operating, they love the power to make things happen. They are born organizers. At their best, they are the party givers, the planners of great excursions, the dynamic centers of their social worlds. At worst, they are manipulators: All the world’s a stage, and the rest of us merely players in the director’s game.
Good examples of people who represent director play are Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and Oprah Winfrey, who early in her career turned a faltering talk show into must-watch TV, then launched her own production company and eventually formed her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
The Director
Directors play by planning; they enjoy planning and executing scenes and events. Though many are unconscious of their motives and style of operating, they love the power to make things happen. They are born organizers. At their best, they are the party givers, the planners of great excursions, the dynamic centers of their social worlds. At worst, they are manipulators: All the world’s a stage, and the rest of us merely players in the director’s game.
Good examples of people who represent director play are Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and Oprah Winfrey, who early in her career turned a faltering talk show into must-watch TV, then launched her own production company and eventually formed her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
The Explorer
All of us start life driven to explore our world; some people never lose their enthusiasm for it. Exploration becomes their preferred path to a play state — their way of provoking the imagination. Think Anthony Bourdain, Richard Branson, or Jane Goodall.
Exploring can be physical — literally going to new places — or emotional — searching for a new feeling or a deepening of the familiar through music, movement, or even flirtation. Exploration can also be mental, such as researching a new subject or seeking out new points of view.
Dr. Brown knew Dr. Jonas Salk, the creator of the polio vaccine, and saw him as an explorer personality.
The Explorer
All of us start life driven to explore our world; some people never lose their enthusiasm for it. Exploration becomes their preferred path to a play state — their way of provoking the imagination. Think Anthony Bourdain, Richard Branson, or Jane Goodall.
Exploring can be physical — literally going to new places — or emotional — searching for a new feeling or a deepening of the familiar through music, movement, or even flirtation. Exploration can also be mental, such as researching a new subject or seeking out new points of view.
Dr. Brown knew Dr. Jonas Salk, the creator of the polio vaccine, and saw him as an explorer personality.
The Joker
The most basic and extreme player throughout history is the joker. A joker’s play always revolves around some kind of foolishness. In school a joker might have found social acceptance by clowning around to make classmates laugh. Adult jokers carry on that social strategy in different ways.
George Clooney is a notorious practical joker. On the sets of Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen, he and fellow actor Matt Damon reportedly would try to outdo each other with practical jokes. And of course, joking is a central element of the personality of Jerry Seinfeld, who for 10 years wrote and acted in one of the most popular American sitcoms of all time.
The Joker
The most basic and extreme player throughout history is the joker. A joker’s play always revolves around some kind of foolishness. In school a joker might have found social acceptance by clowning around to make classmates laugh. Adult jokers carry on that social strategy in different ways.
George Clooney is a notorious practical joker. On the sets of Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen, he and fellow actor Matt Damon reportedly would try to outdo each other with practical jokes. And of course, joking is a central element of the personality of Jerry Seinfeld, who for 10 years wrote and acted in one of the most popular American sitcoms of all time.
The Kinesthete
Kinesthetes are people who like to move; some even need to move in order to think. This category includes athletes such as Serena Williams and Seth Curry, but also people like Gillian Lynne, who find themselves happiest moving as part of dance, swimming, or walking.
Kinesthetes naturally want to push their bodies and feel the result. They may play football, practice yoga, dance, or jump rope to access the joy and openness of play. While kinesthetes may play sports, competition is not the main focus — it is a way of engaging in movement.
The Kinesthete
Kinesthetes are people who like to move; some even need to move in order to think. This category includes athletes such as Serena Williams and Seth Curry, but also people like Gillian Lynne, who find themselves happiest moving as part of dance, swimming, or walking.
Kinesthetes naturally want to push their bodies and feel the result. They may play football, practice yoga, dance, or jump rope to access the joy and openness of play. While kinesthetes may play sports, competition is not the main focus — it is a way of engaging in movement.
The Storyteller
For the storyteller, imagination is the key to the joys of play. Storytellers may be novelists, playwrights, cartoonists, or screenwriters, or they may find their greatest joy in reading the novels and watching the movies created by others. Storytellers feel engaged in stories, and experience the thoughts and emotions of characters in the story. Performers of all sorts are storytellers, creating an imaginative world through acting, dance, lectures, or magic tricks.
Because imagination is the realm of the storyteller, they can bring play to almost any activity. They may be playing a recreational game of tennis, but in their mind, each point is a scene in an exciting drama. Where a competitor is in it to win it, the storyteller just wants to have an exciting match.
Garrison Keillor and Bob Costas are natural-born storytellers, as is Steven Spielberg.
The Storyteller
For the storyteller, imagination is the key to the joys of play. Storytellers may be novelists, playwrights, cartoonists, or screenwriters, or they may find their greatest joy in reading the novels and watching the movies created by others. Storytellers feel engaged in stories, and experience the thoughts and emotions of characters in the story. Performers of all sorts are storytellers, creating an imaginative world through acting, dance, lectures, or magic tricks.
Because imagination is the realm of the storyteller, they can bring play to almost any activity. They may be playing a recreational game of tennis, but in their mind, each point is a scene in an exciting drama. Where a competitor is in it to win it, the storyteller just wants to have an exciting match.
Garrison Keillor and Bob Costas are natural-born storytellers, as is Steven Spielberg.
Additional Resources on Play Personalities
Other Play Personality Quizzes:
- *Understanding your play style quiz and meme by Lindsay Braman
- *Quiz from Famlii to discover your play personality as a parent
- *Quiz from Manage by Play Consulting
- 6 question quiz from Playful Humans
- 10 question quiz by Lea Newman (sign-up required)
- Quiz from Genius of Play to help you discover your child’s play style
Additional Related Resources:
- *Resource from University of Michigan with descriptions and ideas for play for each type
- *Article from Psychology Today “Quiz: What’s Your Personality Type — for Play?” by Gretchen Rubin discusses the concept of play personalities and presents eight categories that capture different ways people engage in play.
- *Article: “What is your play personality?” by Christina Sebesta discusses the concept of play personalities and how identifying them can help plan activities to engage every child, emphasizing that play is not just for children and can be beneficial for everyone.
- *Article: “What is your play personality?” by Sarah Gietschier-Hartman discusses how understanding these play personalities can be used to develop a culture of play in physical education classes.
- Book: The Gift of Play: Why Adult Women Stop Playing and How to Start Again by Barbara Brannen- includes a lengthy list of ways to play to help you identify ways to play.
*These resources are based on Dr. Brown’s play personality types and other published work.
