Play and playfulness across species and environments
- Submission status
- Open
- Submission deadline
Play can be defined as spontaneous, repeated behavior without any obvious function that is performed in a low-stress setting. While play behaviors may be similar to functional behaviors like fighting or hunting, they differ in their context or structure. Play may be solitary or social, depending on the species and context. Aside from humans, many animals engage in play. Though it is most widely observed in mammals, potential examples of play have also been documented in birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, cephalopods, and even insects. In humans, play is critical to the development of motor, cognitive, language, emotional, and social skills. Playfulness as a personality trait varies across individuals and has been linked in humans to wellbeing and psychological resourcefulness. Individual playfulness may also be used as a measure of welfare in animals.
This Collection will bring together primary research articles on all aspects of play and playfulness, including their neurological basis, evolutionary history, developmental patterns, and functional benefits.
Editors
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Giada Cordoni
University of Torino, Italy
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Fanli Jia
Seton Hall University, USA
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René Proyer
Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
Giada Cordoni is a Tenure Track Researcher of Biological Anthropology in the Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Torino, Italy. Her research focuses on theoretical and experimental studies on primate and other mammal socio-biology to investigate the biological roots of prosocial behaviour and emotional communication in humans. Her topics include: play behaviour, aggression and post-conflict management, anxiety-related behaviours, emotional contagion and communication. Dr Cordoni has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2022.
Fanli Jia is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Seton Hall University, USA. His research broadens the scope of inquiry by adding a cultural and developmental lens to empirical investigations of moral emotion, moral identity, and pro-environmental behaviours. He is committed to interdisciplinary research and international collaboration, working closely with colleagues in psychology, biology, environmental studies, and family sciences. Dr Jia has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2021.
René Proyer is a Full Professor of Psychological Assessment and Differential Psychology at the Department of Psychology at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. His major research interests are in the study of personality traits that enable positive psychological functioning (e.g., playfulness), their measurement, and research into their potential malleability. Professor Proyer has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2022.
