English Audio Request

Play is an almost universal activity of higher animals but one that is hard to define. In essence it consists of two main ingredients ― activity for its own sake and experimentation with types of behavior that will be subsequently carried out in earnest (such as hunting, fighting, and hiding). In animals both of these kinds of play are carried out by the young and are clearly a part of the learning process. Experimental activity familiarizes the young animal with its capabilities. Among adult animals, by contrast, it is the first or exuberant type of play that predominates, particularly in such social and highly active species as the dolphin and otter. In adults play is normally transformed into ritual and serves a social function (as in courtship). It is debatable how far the concept of "play" can be extended to include ritual social behavior and whether behavior such as grooming in primates (which increases group cohesion) can be described as play. Human play clearly originates in the same two classes of behavior but is enormously extended and complicated by human self-awareness and sociability. The earliest child play, as in animal behavior, takes the form of exploration and experimenting with bodily skills. Then interaction with others becomes important, involving role playing and fantasy enactment. As in monkey play, for example, the ∥pretend" element in play sometimes involves learning what roles the individual is expected to adopt later. It is through play, too, that children learn that a functioning society is based on rules and values, and also what specific rules and values are current. Fantasy enactment, the use of play to explore dreams, may be uniquely human or not, but it is important. Where the physical side of play (running, jumping, throwing) develops physical coordination, fantasy play serves much the same purpose for emotional development. Play violence, as in cowboys and Indians, far from encouraging violent, aggressive instincts, may teach the child that his aggressive fantasies do not destroy others. The real difference between animal and human play is the persistent importance of play in the life of the human adult. For one thing, human playfulness leads to organized sports and games. These may be intellectual (such as chess), or physical (such as tennis), group oriented (such as ice hockey), or solitary (such as skiing). But whatever form these games take they are an important point of social contact for many people and provide relaxation and adventure. There are several psychological theories about games. It has been suggested that through them the players release their aggressions in a socially acceptable way. The fact that retired athletes sometimes suffer from a variety of personality disorders suggests that the absence of this means of release may be part of the problem. It has also been found that some people (from gamblers to racing drivers) deliberately put themselves at risk both for the intense emotional arousal that it gives and for the relief afterward. They may become dependent on this pain-pleasure combination. Games are also a natural expression of human competitiveness. As far as spectators are concerned, sport is one way of achieving a sense of belonging to a group, but whether they also burn off their aggressions vicariously, in a kind of catharsis, or purging of pent-up emotion, is open to question. Violence sparked by football games suggests that the reverse may be true.