AMER. ZOOL., 14:289-294
(1974).
The Ontogeny of Play within a Society: Preliminary Analysis
G. W. MEIER AND V. D. DEVANNEY
Department of Psychiatry,
University of Nebraska,
College of Medicine,
Omaha, Nebraska 68131
SYNOPSIS. Data were collected on play behaviors occuring within a single troop or rhesus
monkeys in two environments. Observations were regular and covered a total of almost
2 years. The three categories of play—object, activity, and social play—tended to occur
together, typically within the same recording session. Thus, the attending conditions—
including satiation and maturity—which permitted the occurrence of one category of
play behavior, permitted the occurrence of the other categories as well. Maturity seemed
to account for the appearance of a particular behavior within a category (e.g., manipulation rather than touching; climbing rather than active hanging; romping and wrestling rather than contact or touching). The social context, determined by such factors
as maternal dominance, the identity of nearby animals, and the overall social tension
of the troop, and reflected in the extent of inhibitory control of the target animals by
their mothers, seemed to determine the frequency with which these elements in the
infant monkey's repertoire could be displayed during any given period in the ontogeny
of the individual.
Satiation and immaturity remain as the
most provocative conditions—but least
promising explanations—for mammalian
play. Together with the recognized irregularity of play behavior—at least irregular
in the sense that unpredictability of occurrence continues to confound systematic experimentation—these conditions remain the
stalwart characteristics of play research
(Loizos, 1967). Being unable to specify the
natui-e of satiation or of maturity save in
terms of feeding schedules or of "clocktime," we have elected to describe the ontogenesis of play behavior in infants born to
a laboratory simulation of a natural troop
of monkeys, rhesus macaques, and have
focused on the development of social play
under the conditions of routine existence
in their environment which included the
mothers and other adults, siblings and other
older, yet juvenile members, and age-peers
(see Rosenblum, 1961; Kaufmann, 1966).
Despite a familiarity with the group which
began some 5 years before these observations were made, we accepted the erratic ocThis research was supported in part by NIH
grants HD-00370 and HD-00973 from NICHHD.
currence over any epoch of time and have
aspired to sketch only the course or pattern
of the development of play behaviors rather than to define ages of initial occurrences or transitions, or to provide absolute
values of the quantities of such behaviors
and their proportions of the total behavioral display for any given age.
METHOD
For this report, we will consider only
data collected during two phases in the
existence of the primate troop of rhesus
monkeys (Macaca mulatto.) which are our
subjects. All were derived from an extended
family group moved from Cayo Santiago,
Puerto Rico, in November 1965 to Nashville, Tennessee (Meier, 1969). During the
first phase, the group consisting of 7 adults
(1 male, 6 females), 3 sub-adults (2 males,
1 female), 11 yearlings and juveniles (4
males, 7 females), and 4 infants (1 male, 3
females) resided in an inside-outside facility
with a large outside cage and a much smaller
inside room on top of one of the instructional buildings on the campus of George
Peabody College. During the second phase,
289
290
G. W. MEIER AND V. D. DEVANNEV
the troop, now moved to Omaha, Nebraska
(as of early February 1972), consisted of 15
adults (7 males, 8 females), 2 sub-adults (2
females), 10 yearlings and juveniles (2 males,
8 females), and 6 infants (4 males, 2 females). At this time the group lived in quarters—two inside rooms and two somewhat
smaller outside cages—on top of one of the
buildings at the Medical Center of the University of Nebraska. Under both conditions,
the animals had free access to all parts of
the facilities at all times. In the first environment, the animals were fed only in the
inside room on a self-paced schedule determined by individual patterns of operation
of food-delivery system which was available
to them at all hours (Meier et al., 1969;
Meier, 1971). In the second, the animals
were fed in one room only during the midmorning hours (before 1000 hours) by the
placement of large quantities of food for
easy access. In the first situation, we observed the animals through one-way vision
windows strategically placed at sites adjacent to the animal quarters. In the second,
we observed the animals through the open
doorways to the inside rooms or, as necessary, from the outside area adjacent to the
outside cages.
The procedures for the actual recording
of behavior under the two conditions were
almost identical: a check-list, time-sampling
technique was used whereby the observer
indicated for each 15-sec epoch, for each
daily 10-min session, the presence of selected behaviors in each of seven categories
(proximity, posture, locomotion, facial display, social manipulation, object manipulation, and vocalization). The particular behaviors recorded differed appropriately by
age of animal observed. One check-list was
used for the first 2 months following birth;
a second was used thereafter (Devanney,
1973). Some variation occurred on the latter as necessitated by the establishment of
the check-list for the older age. In each instance, the observer (the authors or, during
a brief period in the first phase, an experienced colleague) entered in a shorthand
code in the appropriate cell on the prepared
form the behaviors of the target animal (always), its mother (usually), and its siblings,
age-peers, and unrelated others in the troop
(occasionally). Observations were made
daily in the first phase from the day of birth
to 10 to 12 months of age; in the second
phase they were made daily from the day
of birth to 60 days of age and then twice
weekly until 6 to 8 months of age. In both
instances, they were usually made in the
morning hours after the maintenance activities (and the feeding, as well, in the second
phase) were complete. The target animals
were all of the infants born to the group
during the particular phase indicated; these
were the 4 animals, 1 male and 3 females,
born in 1970 and the 6 animals, 4 males and
2 females, born in 1973. (All were delivered
between March and October of the year
indicated.
Our intent in presenting these data from
widely separate times and places is to show
the fundamental stability of the developmental-social patterns of infantile play behaviors within a primate troop whose composition closely approximated the feral
situation (Lindburg, 1971). In short, our
emphasis is on the pertinence of these behaviors to the social environment rather
than to other, physical aspects. The comments which follow are preliminary in nature in that they were based upon an analysis which is still incomplete.
RESULTS
In the analysis of the checklist data, the
behaviors were categorized according to the
nature of the play orientation: (i) toward an
object (Object Play); (ii) toward another
member of the troop (Social Play); and (iii)
toward "free" activity (Activity Play). These
were counted and summed for each session
in a manner which indicated the exclusive
nature of the categories (i.e., no two categories could be scored for the same epoch).
In all cases the mother's proximity was also
recorded and an attempt was made to score
the arousal level of the group, 1-5, during
the period of observation.
The appearance of all three types of play
occurred at about the same time—when the
infants were about 2 weeks of age—as
shown in Figure 1. (All illustrative material
291
ONTOGENY OF PLAY IN SITU
three patterns which appeared to be temporally distinguishable. The first appeared
during the first postnatal month when the
infants were 2 to 3 weeks of age. This occurred in close proximity to the mother (in
a ventral-ventral position, typically) and
consisted of manipulation of the mother
by the infant although sometimes the particular interaction was mutual and the
mother manipulated the infant alternately
as it did her. (We did keep a separate tally
of play behaviors initiated by the mother
and others directed to the infant.) The
manipulation by the infant was subdued,
without vocalization or vigor, typified by
the manual exploration or displacement of
some part of the mother's body: face, ears,
fingers, arms. This behavior was usually of
FIC. 1. Frequencies of object, activity, and social short duration—it rarely persisted beyond
play behaviors computed as totals over 10-day blocks
from birth to 300 days of age. Data from LB/EX. a single 15-sec epoch—although it could
occur several times within a single session.
is taken from the analysis of a single pair, The frequency of occurrence remained low,
LB/EX. The mother, LB, was multiparous but stable, during this month and into the
and high-ranking. The infant, EX, was a third postnatal month at which time it
female born October 3, 1971. The trends diminished but continued until about the
portrayed are believed to be representative seventh month when it showed an even
of all the pairs observed weighing, of course, sharper decline.
The second pattern was somewhat more
the influence of maternal parity and domrigorous than the first and like the first, ocinance and infant gender.)
Object play most often occurred within
1 m of the mother until the middle of the
fourth month, at which time it began to
occur increasingly at distances greater than
1 m from the mother. By the age of 5
months the frequency of object play at
these greater distances surpassed the frequency of object play close to mother (see
Fig. 2).
Activity play was the most frequently recorded type of play behavior, perhaps because our definition was so all-encompassing. It began to occur occasionally by the
sixth week at a distance from the mother
greater than 1 m, occurred in equal proportions both near and far from the mother
until the end of the third month, then became more frequent in situations distant
l!0
270
from the mother. However, like object
play it continued to appear in situations of
FIG. 2. Frequencies of object play behaviors as regreater proximity (see Fig. 3).
lated to mother-infant distance, computed as totals
Observations of social manipulations and over 30-day blocks from birth to 300 days of age.
interactions of these rhesus infants revealed Data from LB/EX.
160
AGE IN DAYS
On vcnlrum
Off vcntiam, within 1 m
. . . . Beto.d I m
AG! IK DAYS
292
G. W. MEIER AND V. D. DEVANNEY
then wrestling with chasing, romping, teasing usually, but not necessarily, with agepeers—was first recorded during the second
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at a very low frequency. Thereafter
month
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i
it increased markedly in frequency of observation until the animal was about 6
months of age and then remained stable.
With this third type of play the initiator
of action could not be determined easily, if
V
at all. In the females, some decline in this
frequency was noted toward the end of the
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first year, whereas for the male infants the
S
IJO
frequency increased slightly, if any change
could be reported, at this age. In both the
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male and female infants, the relation of this
more complex and temporally prolonged
(both between epochs and between sessions)
form of play to the larger social context was
clear. This play seemed to occur only when
the infant was well beyond the mother's
reach, at a distance of a meter and more
from her.
Nearly all of the social play episodes recorded during the first 3 months occurred
within a proximity of a meter from the
FIG. 3. Frequencies of activity play behaviors as
related to mother-infant distance, computed as to- mother. Thereafter, the distance and fretals over 30-day blocks from birth to 300 days of
quency increased rapidly (see Fig. 4).
age. Data from LB/EX.
None of these forms of social interaction
which we have called play occurred during
epochs containing aggression in the troop,
curred within close proximity to the mother even if considerably removed from the tar—either in direct contact or within 1 m of get mother-infant pair. Depending upon
her. This pattern followed the first in about the nature—contact versus display—of the
a week. This pattern was the manipulation, pulling, and patting of another anim
*
mal, older than the infant, seated near the
/
Itpii 1
/
mother. Typically this animal was a sibling
/
120
(usually female) of the mother or infant or,
/
sometimes, an age-peer and "friend" of the
mother. On several occasions we observed
i
i
these maneuvers with (or by) one of the
i
i
adult males. In those instances, we noted
i
to
i
that the mother was high in the dominance
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hierarchy and the male was a fully grown
A
offspring or was an occasional consort.
•
When recorded, this behavior was sometimes unilateral (i.e., the infant played with
the other animal or the other animal manipulated the infant), but frequently alternating in direction between the two ani- FIG. 4. Frequencies of social play behaviors as related to mother-infant distance, computed as totals
mals involved.
over 30-day blocks from birth to 30 days of age.
The third pattern—first wrestling and Data from LB/EX.
300
110
J O l III DAYS
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Oi viali
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110
AGI IN OATS
ONTOGENY OF PLAY IN SITU
aggression and the participation within
the bout—adult versus subadults—the effect of the bout could be discerned throughout the session by the quiescence and proximity of the target animals or, even, into
succeeding sessions that day with other
target pairs. With epochs of general troop
equanimity, however, the incidence of this
complex form of play was related to distance of separation of mother and infant
and to the dominance ranking and parity
—correlated dimensions—of the mother. In
pairs with primiparous, low-ranking mothers, this form of play did occur within a
meter of the mother although more often
within 1 to 3 m of her. On the other hand
in pairs with multiparous, high-ranking
mothers this form of play rarely occurred
close to the mother (i.e., within a meter),
most often beyond 3 m but, frequently, out
of her presence and sight entirely.
DISCUSSION
In effect these data are a lession in grammar: the relative meaning of "can" and
"may." The grammarian will state that
"can" indicates ability or capacity whereas
"may" indicates possibility or permission.
These data indicate the existence of two
separate processes, inextricably confounded
in a complex social situation such as this,
which control the observed incidence of
play behavior: the development of the behavioral repertoire of the infant macaque
and the vicissitudes of the social control
provided by the maternal parent. The first
is dictated by factors only dimly known,
but which operate to increase the speed,
vigor, and precision of individual movements as well as their qualitative variety.
The second may be related to idiosyncrasies
of the particular mother—age, parity,
rearing conditions—but are most assuredly
dominated by a larger social context in
which the mother-infant pair resides. These
last are those aspects which determine social hierarchy but which, more importantly,
control social adhesion and modulate social tension. The first process is of a maturational nature defining the moment-tomoment capability of the infant; the second
293
is of a governing nature by which the infant's possibilities to explore a rich physical (including social) environment are controlled. Our data reveal the balance, changing over time, between these two sometimes
enhancing, sometimes restricting forces. Further, our data underscore the reality that,
in contrast to the common supposition
that play is an avenue for the immature
animal "to learn social behaviors," the ontogeny of play occurs in a social context
within which the infant is already responding as an established member.
We have seen that the form and complexity of social play are related, first, to
what the infant can do and, second, to the
physical distance between the infant and
its mother. Whereas the first observations
of social play behaviors are of motherinfant interactions which are brief and tentative, successively later interactions are
between the infant and siblings and other
intimates of the mother and between the
infant and age-peers. The first of such behaviors are in close proximity to the mother
(even in the ventral-ventral, early infantile
posture); later, the behaviors occur at
greater distances; and, ultimately, entirely
out of her sight and presence. The first occur in a context which is established and
virtually constant, at least through early
infancy, and are requisite to the early survival of the infant. The second occur in a
context which is also well established antedating the delivery of the infant and reflect
instances of such intimacy during previous
seasons and peer patterns established during those years. The third, those play behaviors which occur well beyond the mother's arm length and typically involve other
infants, are the resultant of the combined
relaxation of inhibitory control of the two
or more mothers involved. This relaxation
—or disinhibition—can take place only
when the overall social tension of the troop
is low or removed altogether. These behaviors reflect the establishment of entirely
new inter-individual patterns within the
troop.
Our analysis of these developmental
trends of play behavior is supported by the
observations on social distance made by
294
G. W. MEIER AND V. D. DEVANNEY
Jensen and his associates (Jensen et al.,
1973) on mother-infant pairs of pig-tailed
macaques maintained in environments of
differing social complexity. Where the
mother and infant were maintained in isolation with minimal physical complexity,
the distances were small and changes were
slow in coming. Where the two were maintained in isolation with maximal physical
complexity, the distances also were maximal and occurred early in postnatal life.
Where the two were part of a social troop
with other adults and infants, the distances
were also small and increased slowly with
postnatal age. Wolfheim et al. (1970) have
suggested that the last is the outcome of
inhibitory control by the mother dictated
by the communication between the adults
of the troop which, of course, include the
mother. This last interpretation is corroborated by the observations of Meier et al.
(1971) on a group of rhesus macaques the
adults of which had had a bilateral sectioning of the VII th cranial nerve and thereby
were rendered unable to make most of the
facial expressions typical of the species.
Under these conditions of limited communication among the adults, infants born to
the group revealed a developmental pattern of physical separation comparable to
mother-infant pairs maintained in some
degree of physical isolation, e.g., in a playpen setting, but far different from other
pairs observed in this communal group
since first observed in 1965. The infants of
the sectioned mothers moved away from
these females into the total group at much
earlier ages than observed elsewhere, usually as early as the second month.
Another aspect of the data provides further support for the described trends. The
three categories of play—object, activity,
and social play—tended to occur together,
typically within the same recording session.
Thus, the attending conditions—including
satiation and maturity—which permitted
the occurrence of one category of play behavior, permitted the occurrence of the
other categories, as well. Maturity seemed
to account for the appearance of a particular behavior within a category (e.g., manipulation rather than touching; climbing
rather than active hanging; romping and
wrestling rather than contact or touching);
the social context seemed to determine the
frequency with which these elements in the
infant's repertoire could be displayed during any session and, presumably, any other
instance in the ontogeny of the individual.
REFERENCES
Devanney, V. D. 1973. A developmental study of
operant behavior acquired by infant rhesus monkeys in a social group. Master's thesis. George
Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn.
Jensen, G. D., R. A. Bobbitt, and B. N. Gordon.
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Primates 14:79-88.
Kaufmann, J. H. 1966. Behavior of infant rhesus
monkeys and their mothers in a free-ranging
band. Zoologica 51:17-32.
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developments in field and laboratory research.
Vol. 2. Academic Press, New York, N.Y.
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Meier, G. W., C. E. Izard, and C. Cobb. 1971. Facial
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Miami, Florida.
Meier, G. W., H. C. Wilcoxon, R. Orlando, and
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behavior in the rhesus monkey. Ph.D. Diss., University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Wolfheim, J. H., G. D. Jensen, and R. A. Bobbitt.
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