Instead of engendering violence and aggression, playground roughhousing could in fact play a vital role in the social and emotional development of children. At least that's according to researchers who've been studying the antics of rats. Peer interaction in the form of play-fighting, say the researchers from the University of Lethbridge, nurtures an ability to comprehend the hierarchy of social structures. Writing in Current Directions in Psychological Science, they say their animal studies have also revealed a link between rough and tumble play and social competence.
The researchers note that in their rat experiments, when a young male attempts to establish residency in a colony, he is promptly targeted for attack by the dominant male rat. Rats that have been reared with plenty of peer interaction quickly learn to remain crouched and motionless on such occasions in order to avoid the dominant male's attention. Play deprived rats, on the other hand, continue to scurry about which ultimately invites further serious attacks.
Additionally, coordinated movements also appear to suffer in the absence of rough and tumble play. Rats that are reared in isolation have impaired ability to coordinate their movements appropriately with opponents. This coordination, say the researchers, can be learned through the constantly shifting body motions that take place during play-fighting.
And it seems that deprivation from peer interaction can have neurological consequences as well. Juvenile play fighting has been found to stimulate the release of certain chemical growth factors in the cerebral cortex, an area the authors describe as the "social brain." The less growth is promoted in this area, the greater the likelihood of impaired movement coordination, perception of social cues, and the like.
Can the rat results be transferred to the human world? Yes, say the authors, who cite evidence that there is considerable overlap between animal and human play, particularly for play fighting. "The knowledge thus gained," says researcher Vivian Pellis, "can provide the clues to the correlated consequences of those processes that can be studied in humans."
Related articles:
Forget Purchasing Power: All You Need Is Love
Family Mealtime Routines Benefit Kids' Mental Health
Sibling Fighting Leads To Violence In Dating
Source: Association for Psychological Science
