Precise, Flexible, and Fun Communication via Play+ | the Process Philosophy of Play

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Play+ Universe and Enriched Marking

The Cynefin Framework’s domains — Clear, Complicated, Complex, and Chaotic — offer a philosophical and epistemological context through which different marking systems can be understood. This mapping is particularly aligned with Play+, presenting a nuanced way to consider marking in a broader landscape.

Terminal Marking: The Clear Domain

Terminal Marking resides within the Clear domain. Here, things are well-defined, and cause-and-effect relationships are straightforward. The marker is issued, ending the behavior and heralding a forthcoming reward. The interpretive scope is minimal, offering little room for nuance or ambiguity. The Simplicity Cliff is real.

Play+ Implications:

• Physical PoleThe Physical Pole is a concept drawn from Alfred North Whitehead's philosophy and adapted in the Play+ training philosophy. It represents the moment of actual engagement where the behavior begins, initiated by a... More: This form of marking maps directly onto a Pavlovian model, where stimuli and responses are clearly delineated.
• Mental Polethe Mental Pole refers to the cognitive and perceptual elements of the play interaction. It encompasses the dog's understanding and anticipation of cues, their decision-making process, problem-solving skills, and attention focus. More: In terms of operant conditioning, terminal marking tends to be rigid and less conducive to creative expansion, aligning primarily with the Physical Pole.

Inceptive Marking: The Complicated Domain

In the Complicated domain, there are multiple possible outcomes that often require expertise to navigate. Inceptive Marking both ends a behavior and initiates a new one within a chain, setting up a succession of “Opportunity | ExpectancyExpectancy in the Play+ context is a multi-faceted concept that embodies a dog's anticipation or prediction of future events or outcomes within a play session. More | Achievement.” This cyclical process creates a dynamic flow and embodies key moments within the chain, allowing for creative advance.

Play+ Implications:

• Physical Pole: The concept of repeated prehension starts from the point of success and achievement (satisfaction of process), thereby setting up another cycle of “Opportunity | Expectancy | Achievement.”
• Mental Pole: Satisfaction comes easily with a well-defined Subjective AimSubjective Aim refers to the dog's desired outcome or goal in any given scenario within the Play+ training methodology. It is the dog's intention behind their actions, which is formed based on their... More, facilitated by the Inceptive MarkShort for “Positive Marker”, a Mark is a word or signal given at the exact moment a desired behavior is performed. It’s like a clicker. Mark can also mean the act of marking... More given mid-chain. This repetitive satisfaction generates an expectancy that becomes the value proposition for the next behavior in the chain.

Expectant Marking: The Complex Domain

Expectant marking is most at home in the Complex domain, where cause and effect become discernible only in hindsight, offering no fixed right answers. This type of marking serves as a “propositional lure” for a myriad of potential actions and outcomes.

Play+ Implications:

• Physical Pole: In Expectant Marking, the Physical Pole is activated, placing the dog into a SEEKING state. However, no immediate action or outcome follows, leading to a palpable tension. This tension is the very essence of expectancy, awaiting resolution.
• Mental Pole: The pause after the Expectant MarkerAn expectant marker in Play+ is a signal, either a cue or a positive marker, used by the handler during training to create a sense of expectancy or anticipation in the dog. It... More becomes a proposition, inviting a flurry of questions like “Is it going to happen?” or “How is it going to unfold?” This serves as a lure to action, an expectant leap into a domain of creative possibility.

The Heretical Challenge to Orthodoxy

By situating various marking systems within the CynefinCynefin is a sensemaking framework used by many organizations to map and visualize processes and workflow throughout the organization. This sensemaking Framework The map gradates Order from left to right - Disorder to... More Framework, the Play+ philosophy underlines the limitations of traditional behaviorist methodologies, which tend to operate exclusively within the Clear domain. The multidimensional Play+ approach facilitates a richer, more nuanced framework for understanding marking, in line with the complex and dynamic nature of learning and behavior.

This is research for Play+ | the Process Philosophy of PlayPlay is willing, self-induced engagement in, and the experience of, novel, consequent opportunity. More project by Ron Watson of Pawsitive Vybe. It is crafted carefully with the assist of chatGPT.