"In The Genesis of Animal Play, Gordon Burghardt examines the origins and evolution of play in humans and animals. He asks what play might mean in our understanding of evolution, the brain, behavioral organization, and psychology. Is play essential to development? Is it the driving force behind human and animal behavior? What is the proper place for the study of play in the cognitive, behavioral, and biological sciences?" "Using the comparative perspectives of ethology and psychology, The Genesis of Animal Play goes further than other studies in reviewing the evidence of play throughout the animal kingdom, from human babies to animals not usually considered playful. Burghardt finds that although playfulness may have been essential to the origin of much that we consider distinctive in human (and mammalian) behavior, it only develops through a specific set of interactions among developmental, evolutionary, ecological, and physiological processes. Furthermore, play is not always beneficial or adaptive."--Jacket.

"A Bradford book."

Foreword / Brian Sutton-Smith -- pt. 1. The nature of play. Play : many meanings, few answers -- Footprints in the sand : the origins and radiation of play theory -- Defining play : can we stop playing around? -- A guide to the diversity of play -- Nothing is simple : studying the hows and whys of play -- The genesis of play : an integrative approach -- pt. 2. The phylogeny of play. The path through the major evolutionary landscapes -- Play in the placental mammals -- The alternate radiation : play in marsupials -- Does the platypus play? -- Play is for the birds too -- The cool reptiles -- The origins of vertebrate play : fish that leap, juggle, and tease -- Play at the margins : invertebrates -- The legacy and future of play.