Extraversion and outdoor play in middle childhood

Summary

The Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory was administered to 334 Aberdeen children aged ‘11 plus’. Their familiarity with the area's traditional outdoor games had previously been tested (a) by multiple‐choice questions and (b) by asking them to list games from memory. A ‘home orientation’ rating was also obtained from their reported attachment to indoor activities, including reading, hobbies and television. No relationships were found between extraversion, rejection of indoor activities, and familiarity with outdoor games. Daily exposure to school playgrounds appears to be the most important factor in children's knowledge of traditional games, rather than personality or out of school habits.