Play Flashcards
Play has, until recently, been considered the “black sheep” of ethology. Why is this? What areas pertain to the topic today?
Few good, convincing “adaptive” or “functional” theories of play. Function of behaviour not obvious, no clear immediate gains.
Developmental ethology, developmental animal (comparative) psychology.
Define the animals of interest for the following researchers:
- Caro
- Bekoff
- Loeven
- Heinrich
- Pellis
- Biben/Altmann
- Panksepp/Burghardt
Caro: felids (cheetahs)
Bekoff: canids (dogs, coyotes)
Loeven: canids (wolves)
Heinrich: corvids (ravens)
Pellis: murids (rats)
Biben/Altmann: primates
Panksepp/Burghardt: behavioural neuroscience of play.
Bekoff offers the most “classical ethology” definition around. What does it focus on, what kind of definition is it, and what issues does it share with aggression?
Focuses on motor patterns and action sequences.
Structural definition, focuses on form rather than function.
Definitions and typologies based on cause, form or function.
The study of play involves discovering the triad of the mind. Define it.
Cognitive dimension (e.g., strategy, exploration).
Conative (motivational) dimension (e.g., stress reduction).
Affective (emotional) dimension (e.g., pleasure).
In fish, play is not correlated with what?
Phylogeny or sociality.
The elephant nose fish is notable because? What kind of play may fish partake in?
Largest cerebellum of all vertebrates.
Object play, social play.
Play is very common in social and most non-social mammals, given it is part of the developmental program. Provide two examples of animals in which it is quite common.
Solitary felids and ursids (bears).
Describe the differences in play between lab rats and mice.
Rat pups play socially, mouse pups don’t.
What issue may differentiate social carnivores with non-social carnivores.
Is play present in adulthood?
List the four types of play.
Object (instrumental) play: ≠ object exploration (novelty effects)
Social (subject) play: contact (e.g., biting) vs. non-contact (e.g., stalking): Caro, 1995.
Locomotor play: play chasing (social) and solitary: Power, 2000.
Inter-specific play: one or two way? (humans and dogs; ravens and wolves).
Provide a definition for locomotor play and describe its function.
Seemingly random actions often with no obvious environmental triggers, typically spontaneous.
Functions: development of motor skills, cerebellar signatures; development of environmental knowledge.
Who said, “Refining the motor training hypothesis for the evolution of play”?
Byers and Walker (1995).
Describe the three functions of social play.
Physical skills: e.g., fighting, hunting, mating.
Formation of social bonds.
Development of (socio-)cognitive skills: useful for future coalition formation; self-assessment of own development.
Describe the role of sexual play.
Common in many mammals and is considered “practice”; essential in many primates for normal sexual behaviour.
List three ways in which play markers signal intention to play.
Frequency, intensity and order of events in play bouts are different from other behaviours.
Play markers: e.g., play bow in canids (arched back, head low, behind high).
Role reversal or self-handicapping: e.g., an adult letting a younger animal take dominant role.
Biben (1998) found three cognitive benefits of play fighting in squirrel monkeys (and other species). What are they?
Behavioural flexibility.
Gauging intentions of others.
Learning about social hierarchies.
Spinka’s general theory of play denotes what five things?
Experience with unexpected events with loss of control.
Physical and emotional experience.
Play has a neuropharmacological impact: endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine.
Locomotor play more frequent in species living in variable (unpredictable) environments.
Sexual dimorphism in play acts (i.e., polyethism) increases with time.
List three proximate causes of play.
Dopamine: facilitator of play, or “primer” for play. Similar role in sexual behaviour.
Endorphins: play feels good, similar role in sexual behaviour.
Play = coping with stress.
Play in wolves and squirrel monkeys = low _____.
Stress hormones (cortisol).
Who said, “In a sense, play is an index of youthful health.”
Panksepp.
What are neuropharmacological ways to increase play in a non-playful adult animal?
None are clear; cannabinoids speculated.
Panksepp sees play as what?
A behavioural mean: play deprivation will increase play in rodents.
Social isolation with increase play-seeking behaviour in rats, but will decrease it in what?
Primates.
Biben and Champoux (1999) found cortisol as a negative correlate of play in _____.
Saimiri.
In Panksepp’s neurochemistry of play, list play arousing neurochemicals and play suppressing neurochemicals.
Arousing: acetylcholine; glutamate; opioids (e.g., beta-endorphins) low dose; dopamine low dose.
Suppressing: serotonin; norepinephrine; GABA; opioids (e.g., beta-endorphins) high dose; dopamine high dose; neuropeptides: oxytocin, CRH.
Burghardt’s take on play suggests what? How does he define it?
Correlated with parental care and behaviour (e.g., no parental care = no play).
Repeated, incomplete functional behaviour differing from more adaptive versions; initiated voluntarily when in relaxed or unstressed setting.
What are the five criteria to recognize play?
Not completely functional (no obvious direct, immediate benefits).
Endogenous component: spontaneous, voluntary, intentional, pleasurable, rewarding, autotelic (for its own sake).
Structural/temporal difference: not “serious”; incomplete, exaggerated, awkward, precocious; behaviour patterns with modified form, sequencing or targeting.
Repeated: repetitions or perseverations of motor patterns, some stereotypy, but some flexibility as well.
Relaxed field: initiated when the animal is “well” (not ill, not stressed, not hungry, etc.).
Describe the three other global theories of play.
Fagen, 1974: sequences of play similar to genetic systems: recombination, fragmentation, translocation, and duplication.
Sutton-Smith, 1999: play = random process generator. Play is not really “random”; some boundaries.
MacLean, 1985: triune brain; play emerges from “family life” (link to parental care). Play is linked to the limbic system = mammalian.
In terms of play:
Limbic system = \_\_\_\_\_ Cerebellum = \_\_\_\_\_ Basal ganglia = \_\_\_\_\_ Neocortex = \_\_\_\_\_ Neocortex X basal ganglia = \_\_\_\_\_
Emotional aspect.
Motor aspect.
Motor (emotional/motivational) aspect.
Sensorimotor and cognitive aspect - 1) prefrontal, 2) premotor, 3) motor cortices.
Motor-cognitive.
