The Social Nature of Play fighting and Play Chasing: Mechanisms and Strategies Underlying Cooperation and Compromise

Abstract

Abstract Play is a widespread behavior in the young of most mammalian species. It is a noticeable feature of behavior in primates, and although there are important within- and between-species differences in the actual forms of play behaviors, it very often appears as play fighting and play chasing, collectively known as rough-and-tumble (r/t). Rough-and-tumble will be the main focus of attention in this chapter, although how it may be related to some other types of social play will also be discussed.