Role Play
What is role play?
Key facts
| Definition | Pretending to be a particular character and behaving and reacting as that character would[4] |
|---|---|
| Spanish equivalent | juego de roles / interpretación de papeles[5] |
| Participants | Two or more people[3] |
| Format | A simulated or imaginary situation[6] |
| Use in learning | Especially as part of learning a new skill[5] |
Role play is an activity where a person acts as a character or role and behaves as that character would, often in an imagined or simulated situation. It is used in education, selection processes, and online contexts. Participants take on assigned roles in a scenario, which can involve two or more people. [3] [4] [6] [8]
Context
Role play is an activity in which a person acts as a character or role and behaves as that character would, often in an imagined or simulated situation [4]. It is also described as role-playing or juego de roles, and as a simulated activity where participants take assigned roles in a scenario [3] [5] [6] [8]. The format involves two or more people in a simulated or imaginary situation [3] [6] [8]. It is especially used as part of learning a new skill [5] [7]. Related terms include dramatization, simulation, and game of roles [3].
Documented claims
- Role play is used in education as an active-learning technique in which the learner takes a different role and represents simulated real-life situations. [6]
- In selection processes, role playing is used as a group dynamic where candidates take on an assigned identity in a concrete situation. [8]
- In games and online contexts, roleplay can mean interacting as a character in a virtual world. [2]
- Roleplay can involve writing a shared story with multiple authors, each controlling one or more characters. [1]
Questions and answers
What is the meaning of role-play?
Role play means pretending to be a particular character and behaving and reacting as that character would, often in an imagined or simulated situation [4].
Is role-play one word or hyphenated?
How is role play used in education?
In education, role play is an active-learning technique where the learner takes a different role and represents simulated real-life situations [6].
What does roleplay mean in online contexts?
In games and online contexts, roleplay can mean interacting as a character in a virtual world [2].
Sources
- ¿Qué es roleplay? - Bloygo - Yoigo — bloygo.yoigo.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- Qué es el RolePlay - Roleplayjuridico — roleplayjuridico.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- roleplay — dictionary.cambridge.org (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- Role-Playing en educación: qué es, fases y ejemplos en el aula — appf.edu.es (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- ¿Qué es un role playing y para qué sirve en selección de ... — inesem.es (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- Escuela de Rol - Introducción al Roleplay — sites.google.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- Role playing: cómo aplicarlo en el aula - IH Madrid — ihmadrid.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
- ¿Qué son los juegos de rol o role playing? Ejemplos para ... — eleinternacional.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)