The triadic relationship among the environment, cognition, and play: Intra-/inter-specific comparison of play among humans and non-human primates

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Through the fieldwork on three primate species (humans, chimpanzees, and Japanese macaques), the empirical researches about play of each kind have been carried out. The sequential changes of micro/macroscopic structures of play groups among wild chimpanzees were explained using the balance theory. The features of the "juvenile society" among chimpanzees or Japanese macaques have been quantified by the methodology of social network analysis, and the hypothesis that social play may have benefit for playing individuals to form the affiliative relationship with the other individuals in the juvenile period was proposed. The newly-observed homosexual interaction between two adolescent female chimpanzees were suggested to be an example of "social pretend play", which have been rarely observed in wild animals. The portable objects which Tongwe children played with were affected by the material environment of their inhabitable area.