Course Syllabus
Evolution and Development of Play
Spring 2020
Psychology 290
CRN 85036
Password: 9001
Instructor: Jeff Schank
Email: jcschank@ucdavis.edu
Office: 268D Young Hall
Phone: 752-6332
Office Hours: by appointment online
Seminar Objectives:
Play has been notoriously difficult to define and clearly differentiate from other behaviors, especially as it is most often seen as a characteristic of childhood, in which premature behavior, incompetence of execution and lack of immediate functional consequences can give the illusion of the subject not being ‘serious’ and so, by default, playful. Recently, however, as more and more cases of what look like play have been documented in a variety of species, specific behavioral properties of play have been repeatedly identified. Burghardt brought these properties together into the most comprehensive definition to date, so that for a behavior to qualify as play it has to meet five distinct criteria. This approach has been used to great effect, with researchers far and wide applying the criteria and showing the commonalities in the behavior of animals as disparate as vertebrates (including mammals, birds and fish) and invertebrates (including insects, spiders and octopus). One of the values of this approach is that many purported examples only satisfy a few of the criteria and knowing which specific ones are lacking can guide further study of poorly studied, by phylogenetically important, species. Indeed, using this definition has provided an important insight into the phylogeny of play: species from only five animal phyla, out of the 30 or so, have been convincingly shown to exhibit play. This suggests that play has likely emerged multiple times (Burghardt and Pellis). This is supported by the finding that the three major categories of play (social, object and locomotor) can be present together or alone in different lineages (Burghardt, 2005) and that detailed comparisons of the presence and complexity of social play in a restricted clade.
We will select readings from The Cambridge Handbook of Play on evolution, development, and other topics we decide are interesting. We will also read and discuss other papers of interest as the seminar proceeds.
Given the current situation we are in, this seminar will aim to be as non-stressful, enjoyable, and playful as possible.
An introductory documentary on play is linked here:
Animals Like Us : Animal Play - Wildlife Documentary
When: Time will be arranged
Where: Zoom
Grading: Is based on participation.
Tentative Schedule
1. April 1 –Organizational meeting
2. April 8 – Readings:
New Directions in Studying the Evolution of Play
Evolutionary Functions of Play
Notes:
Reference:
THE PLAY OF MAN (by KARL GROOS, 1901)
3. April 15– Readings
Notes:
4. April 21. – TBD
5. April 28 – TBD
Exploration, Play, and Habituation in Octopuses (Octopus dofleini)
The evolutionary origins of play revisited: lessons from turtles
Equid play ethogram (McDonnell et al.)
6. May 5 – TBD
Song practice as a rewarding form of play in songbirds (Riters et al.)
Adults Play but Not Like Their Young: The Frequency and Types of Play by Belugas
(Delphinapterus leucas) in Human Care
7. May 12– TBD
Wild justice and fair play: cooperation, forgiveness, and morality in animals (Beckoff)
Play and optimal welfare: Does play indicate the presence of positive affective states?
8. May 19– TBD
Mammalian Play: Training for the Unexpected
Daily animal exposure and children’s biological concepts
Rough-and-tumble play as a window on animal communication
Ontogeny of Social play and agonistic behaviour...
10. June 2 – TBD
General Discussion
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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