Feb 21 2012 How and why do people form emotional bonds the landscapes of the human heart Is this a human specific process or is it a widely shared one Human specific abilities on display o Dora is a letter writer in a country with a moderate rate of illiteracy Why write letters Communication via letter is mostly in support of social relationships Humans maintain relationships with people who are distant in time and place networks vs groups Humans have empathy we share emotions we share information Growth Development Progress toward maturity involves changes in physical structure and changes in behavior What is behavior the movements that an animal makes N Tinbergen o Motor ability behavior Profound changes during the first year of life Motor development in humans Locomotion balance pivot stop quickly Upper body Hands o throwing catching what about climbing New gaits hop skip gallop why age specific gaits individual finger control Holding a writing marking instrument is human specific Humans have more versatility in hand and figure movements than other primates The preschool years can very aptly be called the play years Children spend a lot of time running chasing galloping balancing and climbing Indoors they paint build string beads cut with scissors do simple puzzles and color with crayons o Schickendanz et al 1992 Understanding Children Trends in motor ability 3 7 years old Increase in strength more muscle more bone less fat Increase in control precision coordination Play Characteristics of play o Short sequences fragments of motor patterns seen in other contexts o Repetitious o Reordering o Exaggeration uneconomical o Rapid alterations of behavior o No obvious immediate benefit o Metacommunication this is play How do we know that it is play What is similar in these two species Why does play exist The costs of play o Time and energy expenditure o Accidental injury or death o Increased risk of predation o Delay of maturation Resources allocated to play cannot be allocated to growth fat storage feeding predator avoidance or nonplay social behavior Fagen 1981 Play what is it why is it o Play is a familiar category of behavior that is hard to define and whose existence is hard to explain Who plays which species which stages of development Fagen found that almost all reported examples of play were found in birds and mammals Immatures play more adults less mostly travel feed rest Activity level in feral lowland gorillas Play is a major category of motor behavior for immature gorillas What kinds of activities are play o locomotor play is universal among mammals Nunes 1999 described A uwe Xvante children running around the Namunkura village not because they are in a hurry but because their bodies ask for movement Gosso et al 2005 Mother offspring play in two closely related species Other species cannot play this way because they do not have the kind of movement versatility found in chimpanzees and humans Some categories of play identified in many mammals Locomotor play Object play add object it helps to have manipulative hands Humans are good at combining object play and social play Social play add social agent What kinds of activities are play in birds and mammals Locomotor play Object play add object Some proposed benefits of play Social play add social agent o Practice for specific motor and cognitive skills o Increase knowledge of the physical and social environment o Bonding and cohesion o Increase flexibility creativity innovation Should humans be defined as the play species Is there anything unusual about play in humans Do humans play more Do humans play during more life stages Do humans use play in ways that are unique Feb 23 2012 Play Play is a familiar category of behavior that is hard to define and whose existence is hard to explain Which species play mammals birds How do we know it is play it looks different incomplete reordered repeated uneconomical no obvious benefit play face posture vocalization Categories of play locomotor social object Costs of play lost energy predation injury maturation delay Proposed benefits of play practice knowledge bonding flexibility If all mammals play do some mammals play more If immature mammals play more than adult mammals do some species restrict play to the period of immaturity while other species extend play into adult life Are humans a highly playful species Do they play more and play longer than closely related species Should humans be defined as the play species Is there anything unusual about play in humans Do humans play more Do humans play during more life stages Do they use play in ways that are unique In studies of mice domestic cats sheep baboons Play does not occur immediately after birth it appears sometime later After play appears its rate of expression quickly rises to a peak The peak of expression of play is brief compared to the lifespan of the life span of the species Rate of play falls quickly to zero or near zero In studies of mice domestic cats sheep baboons play is limited to immature animals I was astounded to find that there appears to be no comprehensive data on rates of human locomotor play from birth to sexual maturity p 216 Play in Parakana children Gosso et al 2005 Play in hunter gatherer society our basic psychological mechanisms have been shaped in the context of the hunting gathering way of life p 213 the large discrepancies that exist between ancestral and modern environments may create psychological problems and reduce the quality of life p 214 Hunter gatherer children play They neither hunt nor gather they do not build houses and shelters and they do not cook or clean In fact the life of children at least under 7 years of age is mostly if not solely a playful life observations of foragers strongly suggest the human pattern involves allocating a very large part of the day to playing p 240 One important difference between humans and other mammals is that human children in the hunter gatherer pattern have plenty of time to play together in the absence of adults and in a larger groups than that of siblings Exercise play with locomotor movements Exercise play with objects Object play fine movements Construction play Social contingency play Rough and tumble play Play in Parakana children that is uniquely human Gosso et al 2005 Play in hunter gatherer society Fantasy play symbolic play Games with rules Is there anything usual about play in humans New kinds of play More object play More construction play