Peter Gray on Education as a Biological Phenomenon, Learning from Hunter-Gatherers, and Letting Children Lead

Peter Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College, has published research in evolutionary, developmental, and educational psychology; is author of Psychology (Worth Publishers), a leading introductory college textbook now in its 6th edition; and is a well-known authority on children'fs play. He earned his undergraduate degree at Columbia University and Ph.D at the Rockefeller University. His recent research and writings have focused on the roles of play in hunter-gatherers social life and education, the relation between play deprivation and mental disorders among children today, and the conditions that optimize children'fs abilities to bring their playfulness and curiosity to bear on their own education. He is author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self Reliant, and Better Prepared for Life (Basic Books, March, 2013), and he writes a popular blog called Freedom to Learn for Psychology Today magazine.