Play-like behaviour: an essay in speculative ethology

It is claimed that certain processes of individual behaviour and of interaction between individuals run parallel. Such parallels are seen along three axes: antagonism-coordination, constriction-expansion and neutral-play-like. Characteristics of ritualized behaviour and play are analysed and the two...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta biotheoretica 1983-01, Vol.32 (3), p.145-166
Main Author: KORTMULDER, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:It is claimed that certain processes of individual behaviour and of interaction between individuals run parallel. Such parallels are seen along three axes: antagonism-coordination, 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?
ISSN:0001-5342
1572-8358
DOI:10.1007/BF00047489