Enactive account of pretend play and its application to therapy.
Zuzanna Rucinska, Ellen Reijmers
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2015 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00175 via PubMed
Summary
Pretend play in therapy can be understood without invoking mental representations. The enactive account of pretend play (EAPP) emphasizes interaction and how environmental affordances shape play activity. This view helps explain how shared meanings and dialogue function in systemic therapies, where play is used to enhance conversation rather than to reveal hidden meanings. The paper integrates insights from therapeutic practice with philosophical analysis.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | The enactive account of pretend play, which focuses on interaction and affordances rather than mental representations, can inform systemic therapeutic practices that use play to enhance dialogue. |
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.