Play in Animals Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is the definition of play?
- sign/source of joy
- motor activity performed postnatally
- purposeless
- general term for activities which seem no immediate contribution to survival
What are the characteristics of play?
- Normal behavioural elements not performed in normal order
- Movements very exaggerated
- Elements often repeated
- Sequence broken with irrelevant actions
- Failure to complete elements, which may be repeated.
- Usually carried out far more by immature animals
- Enjoyable emotional response elicited
How do animals know when their conspecifics are playing?
- Visual play signals
- Vocal play signals are also common.
- Self handicapping
Give examples of visual play signals
- Play “bow” in dog
- Rotational movements in lambs
- Facial movements in primates
- Smile in humans
Give an example of vocal play signals
-Baboons give a play chuckle, rats make little chirps, grey kangaroos make a coughing sound when playing.
What is self-handicapping?
is when one animal puts himself at a disadvantage during play
How do animals self-handicap?
- letting the subordinate individual win
- letting playmate get you into precarious positions.
Give examples of self-handicapping
Pole Cats Older kits bite at the strength fixed by the younger one’s expertise, and lose some bouts.
Squirrel Monkeys Prefer to play with subordinate, but fight gently, limited by younger player’s strength.
What is the purpose of self-handicapping?
- facilitates play and allows it to last longer by giving reward (winning sometimes) to weaker player.
- helps prepare stronger animal for real fights which he may really lose.
What is the purpose of vocal play signals?
Vocal signal especially important when visual cues may not be noticed e.g. during play fighting.
-Signal repeatedly to reinforce the intention to play. Repeat signal just after any apparently violent interaction e.g. biting
What are the disadvantages of play?
-costs of play to energy Young antelope spend on play: 20% of their energy 8% of their active time -can result in death Fur seals: Of 26 young seals who died, 22 of them died during play
What is object play and give an example in animals
using inanimate objects in a diversity of ways
chimps -> known to build leaf piles and play in them
Ravens -> identify food items in their environment through play. (neophilic).
Cheetah -> Mother cheetah brought live prey to cubs.
Cubs responded by patting, biting and grasping prey.
Cubs with this experience responded to live prey more actively than cubs with no such experience.
What is the benefit of object play?
- the greater the level of manipulation of the object is, the bigger is the development of neural connections.
- Manipulation and use of object in play are well correlated with the ability of adults to solve problems.
- helps with hunting (practice) domestic cats showed more object play the longer they went without being fed.object play is closely linked to the instinct to hunt.
What is locomotor play and give an example in animals
Locomotor play, including exercise play (running, climbing, etc.), involves large body activity
foals kick up feet when gallop
nonhuman animal play is classified into three types, what are they?
- object play
- locomotor play
- social play
What is the benefit of locomotor play?
- help development of muscles and brain
- practice of tricky movement sequences
- enhance learning about the environment
- improve fitness and stamina
What is social play and give an example in animals
-Two or more players
-Play signals act as behavioral cues (honest signals) for appropriate play responses
*Example: play bow in canines (The play bow is when a dog stretches its front legs out in front, leaning down on its elbows. This brings the chest low to the ground as if the dog is about to lie down, but the rear end remains up in the air.)
biting, grasping, stalking, crouching, fleeing, rearing up..
What is the benefit of social play?
- Formation of long-lasting social bonds
- Promote fine-tuned skills involved in fighting, mating, and hunting
- Promotes development of cognitive skills
- help set up hierarchies
How does play affect survival and reproductive output?
increases survival and reproductive output.
increases survival and reproductive output.
play is basically good for everything. increases social and cognitive competence.
Does play increase/decrease with age?
Decreases - usefulness of play may reduce with age, or the free time available may decrease.
Play in animals can be used for investigation - is this the same for humans?
No!!
Experiment with kids -
Exposed to novel box “toy” 6 times.
Box had a lever activating a buzzer, a bell, and 4 counters
Time spent investigating box reduced, as gradually replaced by time spent playing with box.
Investigation vs Play - different set of behaviours:
- less focussed,
- kids changed expression,
- played with box in combination with other toys.
Describe how there might be a link between object play and hunting
- Crab eating foxes are individual hunters, and do not share toys when exhibiting object play.
- Bush dogs, on the other hand, are group hunters, and were much more likely to share the object with a playmate when object playing.
So hunting styles correlated with behaviour during object play.
Describe how locomotive play can improve stamina
feral horses that played more when young were in better physical condition (better musculature and stamina) as adults.
These correlated with higher fitness.
Describe how social play can set up hierarchies
- Wolf cubs social and play 4x as much.
- Coyote cubs non-social and play ¼ as much.
-Coyotes have aggressive fights and establish hierarchy at this age.
-Wolves play and don’t establish hierarchy. (Prize too high to use play to decide who gets to mate!)
Conclusion: play looks like an alternative to forming a hierarchy.
