Animal Play: Evolutionary, Comparative and Ecological Perspectives (Hardback)

Marc Bekoff (editor), John A. Byers (editor)

£108.00

Hardback 292 Pages / Published: 04/06/1998

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Synopsis

Why do animals play? Play has been described in animals as diverse as reptiles, birds and mammals, so what benefits does it provide and how did it evolve? Careful, quantitative studies of social, locomotor and object play behaviour are now beginning to answer these questions and to shed light on many other aspects of both animal and human behaviour. This interdisciplinary volume, first published in 1998, brings together the major findings about play in a wide range of species including humans. Topics about play include the evolutionary history of play, play structure, function and development, and sex and individual differences. Animal Play is destined to become the benchmark volume in this subject, and will provide a source of inspiration and understanding for students and researchers in behavioural biology, neurobiology, psychology and anthropology.

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521583831
Number of pages: 292
Weight: 580 g
Dimensions: 235 x 157 x 24 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

' ... anyone interested in play should not hesitate to read or buy this book. It puts down a definite marker for play research in the 1990s, and suggests many interesting leads for research on play through into the next millenium.' Peter K. Smith, Animal Behaviour
"This volume is not only interdisciplinary but also manages to be instructively comparative in a broad sense....This breadth and the accompanying list of references assure great usefulness for this volume. An enjoyable and affordable compendium." Choice
"Readers interested in play behavior (and behavior in general) will find this book a worthwhile read." American Scientist
This interdisciplinary volume brings together the major findings about play in a wide range of species including humans." Animal Cognition