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Thursday 28 April 2016

Rough-and-tumble play as a window on animal communication (Article)

Volume 91, Issue 2, 1 May 2016, Pages 311-327


Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Via Roma, 79, CALCI, Pisa, Italy
CNR, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Via Aldrovandi 16b, Rome, Italy
Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, 1404 Circle Drive, Knoxville, TN, United States

Abstract

Rough-and-tumble play (RT) is a widespread phenomenon in mammals. Since it involves competition, whereby one animal attempts to gain advantage over another, RT runs the risk of escalation to serious fighting. Competition is typically curtailed by some degree of cooperation and different signals help negotiate potential mishaps during RT. This review provides a framework for such signals, showing that they range along two dimensions: one from signals borrowed from other functional contexts to those that are unique to play, and the other from purely emotional expressions to highly cognitive (intentional) constructions. Some animal taxa have exaggerated the emotional and cognitive interplay aspects of play signals, yielding admixtures of communication that have led to complex forms of RT. This complexity has been further exaggerated in some lineages by the development of specific novel gestures that can be used to negotiate playful mood and entice reluctant partners. Play-derived gestures may provide new mechanisms by which more sophisticated communication forms can evolve. Therefore, RT and playful communication provide a window into the study of social cognition, emotional regulation and the evolution of communication systems. Biological Reviews © 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Author keywords

Emotional signals; Facial expressions; Gestures; Intentional signals; Self-handicapping behaviour
ISSN: 14647931Source Type: Journal Original language: English
DOI: 10.1111/brv.12172Document Type: Article
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd