A Comparative Study of Primate Play Behaviour: Implications for the Study of Cognition

Play is renowned for being a poorly understood behaviour, yet it seems likely that it occurs for the development of certain adult skills [1]. Primates have been selected for an extended juvenile period, during which there is considerable learning [2]. As play is a behaviour particularly associated with juveniles, it seems likely that increased play during this sensitive period occurs in order to maximise learning potential. A number of studies have shown a relationship between the neocortex and aspects of social cognition [3, 4]. If play functions as a substrate for further development of social cognition, then social play behaviour should correlate with neocortex ratio. I studied solitary locomotor play, object play and social play behaviour of primates at Edinburgh Zoo. I investigated the relationship between the types of play behaviour recorded and the neocortex ratio using the method of independent contrasts. The results of this analysis showed that only social play was significantly and positively related to neocortex ratio, which supports the hypothesis that play may be involved in the development of adult social cognition in primates.