Those That Game Together, Stay Together
The games we play reflect the socio-ecological characteristics of the culture that we are in
Play is important for the development of complex social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills. Play provides young individuals with a safe space to practice new behaviors without grave repercussions. While most animals engage in play, only humans engage in rule-based games. Which kinds of games people play – competitive or cooperative – may depend on their cultural background. In a new study, researchers from Leipzig, Jena, Gera, and Australia screened historical data to answer the question whether cultures play games that correspond to how cooperative they are.
Publication: Leisterer-Peoples SM, et al., Games and enculturation: A cross-cultural analysis of cooperative goal structures in Austronesian games, PLoS ONE (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259746
Original Story Source: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
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