Interpersonal fields of play

ABSTRACT

Ethnographic methods are used to investigate infant–toddlers relationships in an early childhood setting. The metaphorical and emotionally based concepts of holding [Winnicott, D. W. (1960). The theory of the parent–infant relationship. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 41, 585–595.] and container: contained [Bion, W. R. (1962). Learning from experience. London: William Heinemann.] provide complementary angles for interpreting pre-verbal, pre-symbolic, conscious and unconscious processes in the play of young children feeling and thinking, connecting and communicating with and in their bodies, sensually within interpersonal fields [Lewin, K. (1935). A dynamic theory of personality. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill]. Vitality affects [Stern, D. (2010). Forms of vitality: Exploring dynamic experience in psychology, the arts, psychotherapy, and development. Oxford: Oxford University Press] add the felt-tone of moving bodies to these interpretations. The complex relational ways in which these young toddlers played, co-creating interpersonal fields of play are the focus of this paper.

KEYWORDS:

• Play
• interpersonal field
• vitality affect
• holding
• containing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Sophie Jane Alcock is a senior lecturer in early childhood at Victoria University of Wellington. She has previously researched play and playfulness in young children children’s communication using ethnographic methods and socio-cultural theory. Sophie is interested in children’s play from relational, creative, complex and equitable social-justice perspectives.