Play can be catalytic and work as a social catalyst for getting people to interact with one another. People often laugh, smile, and talk with one another, and this can be tied into play being contagious.
MARC BEKOFF: Dogs playing and frolicking can be social catalysts for getting people to interact with one another… Let’s consider some aspects of what dogs are doing, thinking, and feeling when they play with other dogs… Doing this provides valuable lessons about why dog play is important for them and for us…
Play is chaotic. There are various definitions of play, and many home in on how John Byers and I defined it some years ago: “Play is all motor activity performed postnatally that appears to be purposeless, in which motor patterns from other contexts may often be used in modified forms and altered temporal sequencing. If the activity is directed toward another living being, it is called social play.” This definition centers on the structure of play sequences—what animals do when they play—and not on possible functions of play.
Dogs and humans can identify play and “read” what is happening by its chaotic and kaleidoscopic nature. Research shows sequences of play behavior are more variable than those performed in serious aggressive, reproductive, or predatory situations.
Dogs and other animals also tend to follow the “golden rules” of fairness when they play, and their play only very rarely escalates into real aggression. They trust one another to maintain the rules of the game.
Watching dogs play can also be contagious for them and for us—dogs who weren’t playing often jump into the fray, and I often want to do the same, as do other people who are watching them. I’m often told they feel the empathy and joy that the playing dogs are feeling and expressing. I do, too.
Likewise, play can be catalytic and work as a social catalyst for getting people to interact with one another. People often laugh, smile, and talk with one another, and this can be tied into play being contagious. I call this the “lube effect” that fosters cooperation and trust in humans…
Dogs also can be “gateways” for understanding animal emotions, for learning about why they and other animals do what they do, and for stimulating citizen scientists to contribute to an ever-growing database on different aspects of dog behavior and their rich and deep cognitive, emotional, and moral lives.
Play can be “fun for all” and open gateways at the same time. There’s lots of value in allowing dogs to go nuts when they play and sharing the fun and ideas about what’s happening with others. I don’t know of any formal studies of this, but what I learned and what people shared can serve as the foundation for further research. SOURCE…
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