Play in Animals

Question 1

What is the definition of play?

Answer 1

• sign/source of joy
• motor activity performed postnatally
• purposeless
• general term for activities which seem no immediate contribution to survival

Question 2

What are the characteristics of play?

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

How do animals know when their conspecifics are playing?

Answer 3

• Visual play signals
• Vocal play signals are also common.
• Self handicapping

Question 4

Give examples of visual play signals

Answer 4

• Play “bow” in dog
• Rotational movements in lambs
• Facial movements in primates
• Smile in humans

Question 5

Give an example of vocal play signals

Answer 5

-Baboons give a play chuckle, rats make little chirps, grey kangaroos make a coughing sound when playing.

Question 6

What is self-handicapping?

Answer 6

is when one animal puts himself at a disadvantage during play

Question 7

How do animals self-handicap?

Answer 7

• letting the subordinate individual win

- letting playmate get you into precarious positions.

Question 8

Give examples of self-handicapping

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

What is the purpose of self-handicapping?

Answer 9

• 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.

Question 10

What is the purpose of vocal play signals?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of play?

Answer 11

-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

Question 12

What is object play and give an example in animals

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

What is the benefit of object play?

Answer 13

• 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.

Question 14

What is locomotor play and give an example in animals

Answer 14

Locomotor play, including exercise play (running, climbing, etc.), involves large body activity
foals kick up feet when gallop

Question 15

nonhuman animal play is classified into three types, what are they?

Answer 15

• object play
• locomotor play
• social play

Question 16

What is the benefit of locomotor play?

Answer 16

• help development of muscles and brain
• practice of tricky movement sequences
• enhance learning about the environment
• improve fitness and stamina

Question 17

What is social play and give an example in animals

Answer 17

-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..

Question 18

What is the benefit of social play?

Answer 18

1. Formation of long-lasting social bonds
2. Promote fine-tuned skills involved in fighting, mating, and hunting
3. Promotes development of cognitive skills
4. help set up hierarchies

Question 19

How does play affect survival and reproductive output?

increases survival and reproductive output.

Answer 19

increases survival and reproductive output.

play is basically good for everything. increases social and cognitive competence.

Question 20

Does play increase/decrease with age?

Answer 20

Decreases - usefulness of play may reduce with age, or the free time available may decrease.

Question 21

Play in animals can be used for investigation - is this the same for humans?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Describe how there might be a link between object play and hunting

Answer 22

• 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.

Question 23

Describe how locomotive play can improve stamina

Answer 23

feral horses that played more when young were in better physical condition (better musculature and stamina) as adults.
These correlated with higher fitness.

Question 24

Describe how social play can set up hierarchies

Answer 24

• 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.

Question 25

How may social play be helpful in establishing social position ( not demonstrated convincingly yet )

Answer 25

primates and carnivores
Males play preferentially with males and females play preferentially with females across a wide range of species.

Suggests relevant for social position.

Question 26

How may there be a link between play and social behaviour?

Answer 26

children presented with a new toy.
Fell into 3 categories:
Non-explorers – looked at but did not touch new toy.
Explorers – picked up and investigated but didn’t play with toy
Inventive Explorers – Investigated toy then played with it in innovative ways.

Question 27

What might suggest that play may not have the same function for the two sexes in humans

Answer 27

Study : Observed clear sex differences:

• Boys play in big groups, long formal, competitive games.
• Girls play in small groups, take turns but not competitive.
• Boys quarrel frequently but soon return to game.
• Girls quarrel seldom but it stops the game and is rarely resolved.

Question 28

What might suggest that play may not have the same function for the two sexes in animals

Answer 28

Play fighting is more common in young males than females across most mammals which play fight.
-found three times as much play fighting in male squirrel monkeys as in females.
-found kangaroo males play fight thirty times as often as females.
Adult males often have to fight to defend a mate, offspring, resource, or social group, so perhaps play fighting is helpful training.

Question 29

What are the different theories for the reason we play?

Answer 29

• use up energy
• source of heat
• free the mind

Question 30

What evidence is there for play being a way to use up energy

Answer 30

It disappears when energy is in high demand.
- Vervet monkeys only play if food is readily available.
energy used to play is carefully regulated:
- Voles born late in the season barely play at all as stores of body fat are needed to keep warm in winter. Those born earlier play more as time afterwards to fatten up for winter later.

Question 31

What evidence is there for play being a source of heat

Answer 31

• Play increases the heat production of brown adipose tissue.
• Play is common in adult bears that need to increase the heat production before hibernating for the winter.
• The frequency of play is influenced by temperature, inclement weather, and dry/wet seasons.
  e. g. individuals play less during the hottest times of the day when generating additional body heat would be dangerous.

Question 32

What evidence is there for play freeing the mind and lets you broaden your cognitive skills.

Answer 32

• Play-deprived rats respond more negatively to unexpected stimuli than rats allowed to play.
• Losing by self-handicapping may prepare you for future losses.
• Humans used to a lot of “rough and tumble” play solve social problems better
• School children learn academic work better after playtime.

Question 33

How can play be stopped

Answer 33

• Reward is given, as animals stop play and try to get the reward.
• Anything unexpected occurs e.g. boy with the buzzer on the box
• Any danger appears, or the animal feels threatened.

Question 34

Why is play seen as purposeless?

Answer 34

1. Failure to decipher causality of play
2. Delayed benefits to engaging in play behavior
3. Benefits may be multiple and confounding