New Aspects of Human Ethology / Edition 1

by Klaus Atzwanger, Karl Grammer, Katrin Schïfer, Alain Schmitt

Overview

Rough-and-tumble play provided one of the paradigmatic examples of the appli- tion of ethological methods, back in the 1970's. Since then, a modest number of - searchers have developed our knowledge of this kind of activity, using a variety of methods, and addressing some quite fundamental questions about age changes, sex diff- ences, nature and function of behaviour. In this chapter I will review work on this topic, mentioning particularly the interest in comparing results from different informants and different methods of investigation. Briefly, rough-and-tumble play (or R&T for short) refers to a cluster of behaviours whose core is rough but playful wrestling and tumbling on the ground; and whose general characteristic is that the behaviours seem to be agonistic but in a non-serious, playful c- text. The varieties of R&T, and the detailed differences between rough-and-tumble play and real fighting, will be discussed later. 2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF RESEARCH ON R&T In his pioneering work on human play, Groos (1901) described many kinds of rough-and-tumble play. However, R&T was virtually an ignored topic from then until the late 1960's. There was, of course, a flowering of observational research on children in the 1920s and 1930s, especially in North America; but this research had a strong practical o- entation, and lacked the cross-species perspective and evolutionary orientation present in Groos' work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306456954
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	11/30/1997
Series:	The Language of Science Series
Edition description:	1997
Pages:	239
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.02(d)

Table of Contents

Human Ethology.- Research on Emotions and Future Developments in Human Ethology.- Play Fighting and Real Fighting.- Games Evolution Plays.- Groups, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language.- The Communication Paradox and Possible Solutions.- Twin Studies of Behavior.- Hormonal Influences on Human Behavior.- Copulation, Masturbation, and Infidelity.

Editorial Reviews

Contains nine papers from an August 1996 conference by contributors including zoologists, psychologists, a geneticist, a mathematician, and a physiologist. Topics include research on emotions and future developments in human ethology, play fighting and real fighting among children, gossip and the evolution of language, solutions to the communication paradox, hormonal influences on behavior, and copulation, masturbation, and infidelity. Includes 35 pages of abstracts of papers from the conference. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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