Play signals, play moves: a gorilla critique of play theory^*

* An earlier version of this paper was presented in April 2015 at the joint conference of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) and American Conference of the International Play Association (IPA- USA).

ABSTRACT

Play dates over a three-year study of two bachelor western lowland gorillas at the Philadelphia Zoo offer a critique of the idea of play as essentially a voluntary activity. Through video microanalysis, play emerges as negotiated interaction. The study goes beyond the primate ‘play face’ (PF) to understand the complexity of signaled play sessions and suggests that gorillas, like humans, have the equivalent of pregame ritual, and that play may climax cyclically, rather than begin with the PF. The study raises questions about the framing and coding of play behavior, play initiation, play signaling, and about the use of objects in social play.

KEYWORDS:

• Animal play
• gorilla
• signal
• objects
• video
• play face

Acknowledgements

Author like thanks to the staff and animals of the Philadelphia Zoo PECO Primate Reserve for their time and shared curiosity.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Anna Beresin is professor of psychology and folklore in the School of Critical Studies, The University of the Arts.

Kristen Farley-Rambo is the Primary Gorilla Keeper at the Philadelphia Zoo’s PECO Primate Reserve.

Notes

* An earlier version of this paper was presented in April 2015 at the joint conference of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) and American Conference of the International Play Association (IPA- USA).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded in part by a research grant from the University of the Arts.