Animal Play Behaviour

(Perilaku Bermain)

Kelompok 10

ADINDA TIARA
Dosen pengampu: Drs. Zainal Arifin, M.Pd INDAH KARUNIA SARI
INTAN PERMANASARI
What is Play?

 In psychology and ethology, play is defined as a range of voluntary

and internally motivated activities (spontaneous actions), normally
associated with enjoyment and recreational pleasure, which aren’t
usually related with a direct and immediate increase of survival (or
fitness) of the organism.

 In zoology, play is behaviour performed in the absence of normal

stimuli or behaviour elicited by normal stimuli but not followed to
the completion of the ritualized behaviour pattern.
 In mammals, playing is considered a typical
activity. almost 80% of mammalian
expressions show different expressions.

In reptiles, some of them have shown rudimentary

forms of play (mostly in captivity).
 On the other hand, as far as we know
play has been considered an activity
exclusive of young individuals, but the
truth is that some animals (specially
played primates) keep playing during
adulthood.
Form and Function of Play

 Play has a wide range of variability

and objectives according to its
context: its meaning changes from
youth to adulthood : individually or in
group along with other individuals.

 Play activity is often observed through

action and signals, often functioning
as a tool for communication and
expression.
Parental-bonding play

 During the early months of an animal’s life, the

establishment of emotional bonds between
parents (especially mothers) and their offspring is
an essential fact to assure both cognitive and
emotional development. E.g: Chimpanzees’
mothers touch and tickle softly their young since
the moment they born.

 Primatologist Jane Goodall observed that

chimpanzees’ mothers let other young
chimpanzees to approach and interact with her
baby
 Movement and body play

 The body play allows organisms to test the

limits of their own body and of their
surrounding environment.

 Movement and corporal play produce a

feeling of joy on organisms. In addition, they
help organisms to earn self-confidence and
they seems to have an important effect on
brain organization.

 A zoologist, Sergio Pellis explant that playing

can shape the brain in other ways too. Young
mammals have an abundance of brain cells
in their brain (the outer part of the brain - part
of what distinguishes mammals).
Object play

 Using objects during play is a usual fact in

primates, but there exist other animals that also
use them. The selected object acquires different
and unique characteristics for the organism,
which essentially use it to have fun. Some studies
propose that the greater the level of manipulation
of the object is, the bigger is the development of
neural connections.
Social Play

 Playing with friends is always funnier. However, is not

only the enjoyment of playing with other organisms
the main benefit of social play, but the acquirement
of abilities and behaviors that will be of a major
importance during adulthood.
 Some social play allow organisms to develop social
skills (interaction) by the stablishment of different
codes of conduct andrules. At the same time, in some
organisms (whether wolfs, primates or deer,
carnivorous or herbivorous) social play prepares
them to face a wide range of situations that will take
place in adulthood, but in a safe and controlled
environment: fights, bites and tests of strength are only
a few examples.
Imaginative, creative and narrative play

 Among all animals, primates are the most playful

animals with no doubt; or, at least, the ones that have
developed play in a more complex way.
 Imaginative play (ability of creating an imaginary
universe and an own sense of your mind), storytelling-
narrative play (development of a story with a main
narrative thread, giving us permission to expand our
own inner stream of consciousness) and creative
play (drawing, music, sculpture) are only a few
examples of the most complex forms of play. The
maximum expression of all these forms of play takes
place in humans. According to different
hypothesis, “fantasy” and “imagination” could have
been the door to a greater language ability and a
greater intelligence in hominids.
 A study of bottlenose dolphins in Australia revealed that these young dolphins spent
longer periods of time far from their mothers, lived with other young dolphin groups and
were heavily involved in sexual play social activities. African lions and dolphins are social
animals and social lifestyles are one of the special characteristic of mammalian specialist
who are routinely involved the game.
 Another common feature of the game is that the game is likely to be dangerous. Baboons
sometimes kills and eats the children of vervet monkeys, and the most successful baboons
do such things when monkeys are playing in group far away from adult monkeys.
However, the study of Ibex (a type of wild goat) which was grounded could cause at least
five out of fourteen children who suffered injuries, which resulted in lameness.
Conclusion

1. Playing in psychology and ethology (the science of animal behavior) is defined

as a variety of voluntary activities and internal motivation (spontaneous action),
associated with pleasure and pleasure pleasure, not related to improvement, but
from the survival (or fitness) of the organism.
2. Play activity, often observed through action and signals, often serves as a tool for
communication and expression in the form of mimicry, chasing, biting, touching,
etc.
3. This behavior can occur due to the functioning of the cerebellum which will later
instruct the body to respond with body movements.
Video about Play Behaviour