Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2025

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats
Published on: January 18, 2013
Proximate and ultimate mechanisms of human father-child rough-and-tumble play
Daniel Paquette1, Jennifer M StGeorge2
1École de Psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Canada.
Abstract:
The aim of this contribution is to attempt to understand the adaptive functions of father-child rough-and-tumble play (RTP) in humans. We first present a synthesis of the known proximate and ultimate mechanisms of peer-peer RTP in mammals and compare human parent-child RTP with peer-peer RTP. Next, we examine the possible biological adaptive functions of father-child RTP in humans, by comparing paternal behavior in humans versus biparental animal species, in light of the activation relationship theory and the neurobiological basis of fathering. Analysis of analogies reveals that the endocrine profile of fathers is highly variable across species, compared to that of mothers. This can be interpreted as fathers' evolutionary adjustment to specific environmental conditions affecting the care of the young. Given the high unpredictability and risk-taking features of RTP, we conclude that human adult-child RTP appears to have a biological adaptive function, one of 'opening to the world'.
Related Concept Videos
Aggression
Attachment
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's...
Parental Care
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Phallic

