Playing collect: an analysis of the meaning of toys in adult life.

• Grant number: 23/17190-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: June 19, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Luís Ferreira Abrão
• Grantee: Letícia Hara Takahama Tagliacollo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/15139-9 - Collecting in adulthood: the playful perspective on digital culture, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Considering the increase in the purchase and collection of toys and action figures by adults, this work aims to understand why there are so many people who collect, what are the meanings behind this practice and what would lead them to collect. To this end, five collectors who are at least 25 years old and have been collecting for more than five years, located on specific websites on the subject on social networks, will be interviewed. The semi-directed interviews will be conducted in an online format and later analyzed according to psychoanalytic theory. It is expected to understand the emotional experiences of adults who dedicate themselves to collecting toys, identifying their unconscious motivations and demands.