第280回白眉セミナー ： From curiosity to play: why do animals play?
- 壹岐朔巳 特定助教（15期・ヒト行動進化研究センター）
- 2026/01/20 4:45pm
- 学術研究支援棟地下会議室1＆2
- 英語
- オンサイト、Zoom
要旨
The origins of play behavior remain a profound puzzle in animal evolution. Play is often characterized as a seemingly non-functional behavior that confers little survival or reproductive benefit. This characteristic makes the evolution of play appear paradoxical under Darwinian principles, which posit that traits must be beneficial to be selected. In this talk, drawing on Iki (2025, Biological Reviews), I propose a new hypothesis that early forms of play emerged as an evolutionary by-product of neuropsychological mechanisms associated with curiosity.