Play-like behaviour: An essay in speculative ethology

Abstract

It is claimed that certain processes of individual behaviour and of interaction between individuals run parallel. Such parallels are seen along three axes: antagonismcoordination, constriction-expansion and neutral-play-like.Characteristics of ritualized behaviour and play are analysed and the two categories of behaviour are compared in detail. They are shown to differ largely in degree of expansion. They also differ along the antagonism~coordination axis. Both are play-like.A theory comprising both ritualized behaviour and play is attempted. The concept of field interaction is introduced. The physical theory of electro-magnetism is used as a conceptual model.Positive and problematic aspects of the theory are discussed: Is the behavioural field polarised or not? The relationship between aggression and play-like bebaviour is considered, both as a motivational problem and in phylogenetic perspective. Some limits to the theory are indicated. Relationships of the theory to some other theories are briefly discussed. I. Parallels between internal and interactive processes: Antagonism, coordination, expansion and constrictionClassical ethology views behaviour of the individual animal ~ as a product of internal and external stimuli. Although internal and external influences are seen to interact, they are considered as in essence separate categories. I think it may add to the understanding of certain kinds of behaviour if the existence of a certain continuity between the internal and external events is acknowledged in the sense that internal processes and interactions with the outer world run parallel.

The congener; A neglected area in the study of behaviour

“…What will be said about the model here repeats, and gives some wider context to what I have written earlier [26]. Though less anthropomorphic than the fore-going section, subjectivistic elements will not be eschewed also in this one.…”

“…As mating is consummated the energy may dissipate completely, i.e. become so thinned that all 'heaviness' disappears from the behaviour [26]. The material expression of this dissipation is the release of the germ cells which were held up to this moment.…”

“…For it is not only a matter of the human observer being fascinated; the animal performers and attenders are also absorbed by the show, even to the point of their running substantial risks. The same is true for play behaviour, which may be united together with ritualized behaviour into the larger category of play-like behaviour [24,26]. Fagen [12]puts it like this: "In the play of animals we find a pure aesthetic that frankly defies science.…”

BI-stability of emotions and motivations: An evolutionary consequence of the open-ended capacity for learning

“…He labels these as "Behavioural constrictive"versus "behavioural expansive" tendencies ( [27,28] Parallel to Maslow's [33] behavioural models of men and other primates, Kortmulder [26,27] discerns between (a) animals with a behavioural repertoire which is fully actualized through sufficient periods of behavioural expansion marks the onset of a profound physiological change which is easily reversible when short-lasting but which tends towards irreversibility when submission is prolonged." [26] 8…”

“…In previous contributions [27,28] a novel concept on the hi-polarity of animal behavioural tendencies, labeled as "centripetal" versus "centrifugal" -, or as "constrictive" versus "expansive" tendencies, was introduced.…”