The Need for Play

Abstract

This chapter reports the development of a scale to measure the need for play. Based upon a series of studies, the three-item scale was found to meet the four criteria for a compound trait. First, it was unidimensional. Second, it had good internal reliability (mean coefficient alpha =.82.) Third, a combination of elemental traits accounted for 42.0 percent of the variance in the construct. Significant predictors of the construct were: need for arousal, agreeability, need for body resources, openness to ideas, extraversion, and emotional stability. Fourth, the need for play was found to account for variance beyond that of the elemental traits in measures of sports fan involvement, healthy diet lifestyle (negative relation), impulsive buying behavior, and bargaining proneness. The results are discussed in terms of the need to perform additional work to define the domain of playfulness, specify additional items to include in the scale, and identify other situational and surface traits that may be related to the disposition to be lighthearted and playful.