Routing the Roots and Growth of the Dramatic Instinct

Abstract

The idea of a “dramatic instinct” is routed from its nineteenth-century roots in early childhood education and child study psychology through early twentieth-century theatre education. This historically contextualized routing suggests the functional purposes of pretense for human freedom, self-preservation, and survival. Theatre scholars may influence the discipline of cognitive psychology by employing these philosophical and epistemological theories to unpack the role of empathy in aesthetic experiences with today’s spectators.