Rae Harris | Editor-in-Chief
Play — defined as “spontaneous, repeated behavior without any obvious function that is performed in a low-stress setting” — is essential in the early stages of an animal’s life as it teaches the skills necessary for survival. Play teaches wolf cubs how to assert dominance and how to track prey. In social groups, play teaches animals how to interact with others and navigate conflict.
Play is not solely for young animals, however. In adulthood, play aids an animal in maintaining physical strength or their place within the social structure. In the case of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), the closely related species demonstrate divergent play behaviors that may underlie their different social structures. According to the 2023 article “Adult Play and the Evolution of Tolerant and Cooperative Societies” by Elisabetta Palagi, “bonobos move in large mixed parties, while chimpanzees aggregate in small groups, some formed by few females with their offspring, some involving small groups of males and others including an estrus female with the dominant male.” In infancy, members of both species demonstrate play behavior with negligible differences. As juveniles, however, chimpanzees began to play significantly less. This trend continued into adulthood. Ultimately, species that show more play in adulthood also show higher levels of social tolerance.
Adulthood play also contributes to social tolerance in humans. In humans, play is “rewarding and pleasurable … it is often social and collaborative and involves improvisation and experimentation,” Adam Piore wrote in his article “Do You Play Enough? Science Says It’s Critical to Your Health and Well-Being.” Within the workplace, playfulness enhances “group cohesion, creativity and spontaneity, intrinsic motivation, quality of life, decreased computer anxiety, positive attributes toward the workplace, job satisfaction and performance, innovation and academic performance.”
Play is a stress reducer and provides an avenue for breaking the tension between strangers. Play in adulthood need not be competitive and can instead involve activities such as puzzles, coloring books, video games, hiking, cooking and other mundane tasks. Play is what you make it and is essential in every well-balanced individual. Instead of framing play as “immature” or “slacking from responsibility,” we should embrace the joy of guilt-free play and with the mindset that play only makes the work better.
