Positive Play Lab

The Positive Play Lab at SUNY New Paltz consists of Doug Maynard, professor of psychology, and a small team of bright undergraduate and graduate students in psychology. Our primary goal is to better understand the variety, function, and importance of adult play and playfulness and their functions through research and practical application.

Current and Recent Research Projects

  • We currently have an article in press at American Journal of Play entitled “Play Guilt Experiences Among College Students: A Grounded Theory Investigation”.
  • We conducted a qualitative study investigating how the COVID-19 lockdown in the metro NYC area in the spring of 2020 affected the play lives of college students. This article, entitled “Changes in the Play Lives of College Students During the Early Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown” was published in The Journal of Play in Adulthood in 2022.
  • We have conducted experiments to explore the various experiences associated with playing an unfamiliar board game, including a comparison of the emotional effects of playing a game in a competitive vs. cooperative vs. solo mode. The results of this study, with Positive Play Lab alumni Leah J. Mancini and Vania Rolón as co-authors, were published in the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research. The article, “The Effect of Competitive, Cooperative, and Solo Play on Subjective Vitality and Negative Affect”, was published in 2020.
  • Doug Maynard and Joanna Herron explored how it feels to fail in cooperative tabletop games (such as Pandemic) using an introspective approach. We argue that struggling or failing in these games is not inherently unpleasant or painful. This work, entitled “The Allure of Struggle and Failure in Cooperative Board Games”, appeared in May 2016 in the online journal Analog Game Studies (Volume III, Issue IV).
  • We are currently validating a brief survey measure of play fulfillment, called the Adult Play Fulfillment Index (APFI). The measure is not yet published but if you are interested in using it in your research please contact me.

What I Enjoy Playing

In terms of my own play, I enjoy a variety of tabletop games, including European-style strategy games such as Agricola and Viticulture and cooperative games such as Pandemic and the Arkham Horror Card Game. I also like escape rooms and other interactive puzzle-like gaming experiences, which I occasionally incorporate into the courses I teach. On the digital side, I like point-and-click adventure games, action-adventure games, and interactive fiction with an engaging narrative and/or humor (e.g., Grim Fandango, Dreamfall, Beyond:Two Souls, You Will Select a Decision), and other inventive and indie games such as Portal and Haven. I’ve also enjoyed dying a lot in Minecraft while playing with my two kids over the years.

Fall 2025 Student Lab Members

  • Lucia Daher – joined Fall 2023
  • Owen Wardwell – joined Spring 2025
  • May Hornbuckle – joined Fall 2025

Positive Play Lab Alumni

  • Egamaria Alacam (Fall 2017-Spring 2018) graduated in May 2018 with a BA in Psychology. She recently earned her Ph.D. in quantitative psychology from UCLA.
  • Ariel Barter (Fall 2016-Spring 2017) graduated in May 2017 with a BA in psychology. She is currently pursuing a MA degree in clinical mental health counseling at The College of New Jersey.
  • Griffen Camberdella (Fall 2018-Spring 2019) graduated from SUNY New Paltz in May 2019 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Communication.
  • Samantha Casanova (Fall 2018) graduated in May 2020 with a BA in Psychology with minors in Sociology and Disaster Studies. She was also a student in the Honors Program.
  • Ann Marie DeBonis (Fall 2019-Summer 2022) graduated in December 2022 with an MS in Psychological Sciences. She was the Psychology Department administrative assistant for the second half of 2022.
  • Jesse Chakan (Fall 2014) graduated in May 2015 with a BA in industrial and organizational psychology.
  • Lars Ellwanger (Spring 2023-Spring 2025) graduated in May 2025 magna cum laude with a BS in industrial and organizational psychology.
  • Riley Goold (Spring 2023) graduated magna cum laude in May 2023 with a BA in psychology and minors in anthropology and philosophy.
  • David Gueli (Fall 2014) graduated in August 2015 with a BA in industrial and organizational psychology.
  • Lauren Handy (Spring 2014) is a Master’s student in the Psychology program. Her thesis is an examination of frustration as a moderator between violent video game play and aggression.
  • Lizbeth Hernandez (Spring 2023-Spring 2025) graduated magna cum laude in May 2025 with a BS in psychology and minors in music and art studio.
  • Caitlin Hoben (Spring 2014) graduated in May 2014 with a BA in industrial and organizational psychology. She is currently working in human resources for Target.
  • Joanna Herron (Spring 2016) graduated magna cum laude in May 2016 with a BA in psychology and a BS in mathematics.
  • Mike Jagacki (Spring 2023-Fall 2024) graduated in December 2024 with his BS in psychological science. He has since taught in the Psychology Department as an adjunct professor and is currently an assistant coach for the SUNY New Paltz men’s basketball team and the Events and Reservations Manager for the Center for Student Engagement\.
  • Laura Kopczynski (Fall 2014-Spring 2015) graduated magna cum laude in May 2015 with a BA in industrial and organizational psychology and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in I-O psychology at Baruch College (CUNY).
  • Hannah Lake (Fall 2014) graduated magna cum laude in December 2014 and began her graduate studies in forensic psychology at John Jay college in Fall 2015.
  • Leah Mancini (Fall 2015-Spring 2017) graduated magna cum laude in May 2017 with a BA in psychology. She is currently a statistician with the New York State Department of Labor.
  • Ash Moquin (Fall 2019-Spring 2021) graduated summa cum laude in May 2020 with their BA in psychology and a minor in women, gender, and sexuality studies.
  • Ale Moss (Fall 2017-Fall 2019) graduated with her MS in Psychological Science in May 2020.
  • Theresa Paras (Fall 2019-Summer 2020) graduated in May 2020 with a BA in Psychology.
  • Connor Pierce (Fall 2014) graduated cum laude in December 2014 with a BA in psychology. He now has his MS in Games for Learning from New York University and is currently an instructional designer at eCornell.
  • Jess Pullar – (Spring 2023) graduated in May 2024 with her MS in Psychological Science.
  • Kanji Rodriguez (Spring 2020-Spring 2021) graduated in January 2023 with an MS in Psychological Sciences. She is currently a Freshman Admission Advisor at the college.
  • Vania Rolón (Spring 2016-Spring 2017) graduated in May 2017 with an MA in psychology. She is now a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at Brunel University in the UK.
  • Usman Shakil (Fall 2015) was a double major in psychology and philosophy, and a disaster studies minor. He was a student in the Honors Program, a Student Ambassador, and active in many campus organizations including the Undergraduate Psychology Association. Usman also helped other students through tutoring and volunteering at the Oasis/Haven hotline. Tragically, he passed away in early December 2015. Usman was a bright, enthusiastic and kind person, and he is missed.
  • Sydney Shepard (Fall 2017) graduated summa cum laude in December 2017 with a BA in psychology. She will be attending Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work beginning in Fall 2018 .
  • Emily Smith (Fall 2014-Spring 2015) graduated magna cum laude in May 2015 with a BA in psychology and is currently in the Post BA Program for Communication Disorders here at SUNY New Paltz.
  • EmmaJean Taylor (Spring 2023-Spring 2024) graduated in May 2025 with an MS in psychological science.
  • Allison Vaughn (Fall 2015-Spring 2016) graduated summa cum laude in May 2016 with a BA in industrial and organizational psychology.

If you are an alumnus/a of the Positive Play lab and have an update for this list, please e-mail me!