CONOCE UN ARTÍCULO CIENTÍFICO PLAYING
THOSE WHO PLAY TOGETHER
STAY TOGETHER NAOMI ANDERSON | Máster en Primatología, Fundació Universitat de Girona: Innovació i Formació y Fundación Mona. Curso académico 2018-20
Social bonding with others is tremendously important for our wellbeing, as it prevents the development of a variety of life-long health problems. Scientists have continuously investigated how we create our social ties, and it seems that playing, although elementary, is very likely underrated.
A
s humans, we have a need to form
probability of death by roughly 50 % (due to
social
the possible development of the health risks
relationships
with
other
individuals. Our lives are awash with
social connections, from deep and meaningful attachments to our parents, to simple yet polite exchanges with other regulars at our favourite coffee shop. Our social bonds are important because throughout our evolution we have adapted into a social and group-living species, who depend on others for information, resources and protection. So fundamental have become these bonds, that when faced with social adversity, such as isolation or a lack of support, we may develop life-long problems. Examples include social anxiety, schizotypal personality disorder, as well as borderline personality disorder. Moreover, a study from 2016 revealed that a scarcity of social connections increases the
86
mentioned above). Given
the
importance
of
connecting
with others, scientists have attempted to understand the differential strength and significance of bonds between individuals. These investigations have not been limited to the human-realm. It is valuable to analyse the process of social bonding in non-human primates, our closest living relatives, to gain further insights into our own social behaviour. As such, many researchers have questioned whether group-living nonhuman primates, such as chimpanzees, gorillas and macaques, also share stronger and weaker social ties with different individuals, similarly to ourselves.
