Modelos mentales sobre el concepto de lo lúdico

This article presents the results of a research project aimed at understanding the mental models regarding the concept of play among 139 first-year students from two postgraduate training institutions. A descriptive-exploratory methodology was implemented, and a Likert-type questionnaire consisting of seven general questions and five specific questions related to the subcategories Interactions-Subjects, Uses-Implementations, Experiences-Lived Experiences, and Concepts was applied. Among the results are the representations associated with play within a framework of individual and collective recognition, with culture being a determining factor that shapes the interactions and expressions of playful manifestations, whether individually or in groups. Likewise, in the Uses-Implementations category, the relationships of play in teaching and learning contexts prevail.