Play

Question 1

When 3-6 year olds choose what children are playing, what do they tend to choose?

Answer 1

Choose the actor who is violating expectations of efficient action as the one who is playing

Question 2

What do infants typically assume about goal orientation?

Answer 2

People act in the most rational and efficient way to achieve their goals

Question 3

Describe a study tenant shows that babies are surprised when people violate rationality or efficiency principles.

Answer 3

Babies are habituated to an experimenter reaching over a block to grab a ball. Then, remove the block, scientist either reaches directly or reaching over to grab the ball. Children are more surprised by reaching over, assume that they would reach directly when presented the opportunity to

Question 4

Explain how children’s actions can change when they infer when people violate rationality or efficiency

Answer 4

Experimenters are either tied up (can’t use their hands) so use their head to touch a button (efficient), or have their hands not tied up and use their head to touch a button (inefficient). It was found that children would use their head to press the button after the inefficiency condition- assume that they have to be using their head instead of their hand for a particular reason

Question 5

The willingness to adopt arbitrary rewards and incur unnecessary costs, leading to systematically different behavior than in other forms of intentional, goal-directed behavior

Answer 5

Play

Question 6

When children are told to play while getting stickers in a box, how do they act compared to children told to get them directly?

Answer 6

Children told to get the stickers would go directly to the box to obtain the stickers, while children told to play would go around the box and try a novel path

Question 7

Explain the six reasons why we could play

Answer 7

For fun
For performance
For peacemaking
For practice
For prediction and plans
For problems and proposals

Question 8

Provide an example on why we would play for fun

Answer 8

Gives us pleasure, chimpanzees swing, jump, and leap through the trees because it is positively arousing

Question 9

Provide an example of playing for performance.

Answer 9

Meerkat’s play doubles when food is supplemented.

Question 10

Why would someone play to indicate performance?

Answer 10

Functions as an honest signal of health and fitness because play is costly. Animals only play when their wellbeing is good

Question 11

Provide an example of how animals would play for peacemaking.

Answer 11

Pack and herd animals can evaluate one another’s strengths and establish hierarchies through play, avoiding riskier fights within group, could also lead to greater coordination

Question 12

How could play function for peacemaking?

Answer 12

May reduce within-group aggression and increase within-group coordination

Question 13

Provide examples of how animals could play for practice.

Answer 13

Kittens may pounce on strings to better catch mice, crows and chimps play with sticks to extract bugs from crevices, otter pups may play with rocks to crack mollusk shells

Question 14

Why would we play for practice?

Answer 14

Helps children and young animals master critical skills for adulthood

Question 15

Why would children play for prediction and planning?

Answer 15

Motivated to learn more and be able to predict more about the world. Relates to children’s interest in causal information

Question 16

Provide an experiment that shows that children may be interested in predictions and plans.

Answer 16

When asked whether there are 8 or 1 marble in the box, they stop playing quickly, when asked whether there are 8 or 9 marbles in the box, they take much longer to discriminate, more uncertainty=more play

Question 17

Provide animal examples on making problems for themselves to play

Answer 17

Primates balance themselves on unstable branches, wolves and dogs bow low while play fighting

Question 18

What is the benefit of playing in a way of creating new problems?

Answer 18

Helps increase general problem solving, generate new ideas and plans to deal with situations

Question 19

When kids are playing for fun, they seek more ___ and ____

Answer 19

When kids are playing for fun they seek more challenge and novelty

Question 20

When kids are playing to win they choose ____ tasks with more ____

Answer 20

When kids are playing to win they choose easier tasks with more autonomy