유아의 Rough - and - Tumble 놀이에 대한 동물생태학적 고찰 : 연구문헌을 중심으로

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study is to review the literature that employs ethological approach to examine the rough-and-tumble play of animals and children in order to explore its categorical meanings and developmental functions. In general, rough-and-tumble play consists of the following behaviors: run, chase, jump flee, wrestle, and open-hand beat. In short, rough-and tumble resembles playfighting and chase-flee behaviors. According to the ethologists, rough-and-tumble play in animals has several biological and social functions. One function is to indicate the player`s current well-being and therefore future reproductive success. Another is to help animals learn when to act in self-defense and when not to. The third function is to develop and maintain close, emotionally positive dyadic social relationships. Rough-and-tumble play in children also seems to develop their physical capacity. However, the relation between rough-and-tumble and dimensions of children`s social competence is a controversial issue because of its frequent confusion with aggression. Rough-and-tumble is considered a form of aggression by some researchers and a playful and adaptive behavior by others. Pellegrini(1989b) noted, however, that close examination illustrated clear distinctions between rough-and-tumble and aggression. According to him, rough-and-tumble is different from aggression in structural and functional dimensions. Structurally, rough-and-tumble involves children`s engagement in reciprocal role taking(the chaser/ chased). Like other forms of play, rough-and-tumble follows an inverted U-development. Also, boys engage in rough-and-tumble more frequently than girls. On the other hand aggression is structurally characterized by unilateral. Aggression tends to occur in the context of property disputes regardless of children`s age and sex. The literature suggests that rough-and-tumble enhances social affiliation and social cognition functions because rough-and-tumble shares the features of cooperative games. However, the prosocial function of rough-and-tumble doesn`t apply for all children. Neill(1976) found that rough-and-tumble and aggression co-occurred. Also, Pellegrini(1989a) noted that rough-and-tumble seems to be affiliative for boys, especially for popular boys but not for rejected boys. As a conclusion, rough-and-tumble play is fun and serves a prosocial function for most children, although the social function of rough-and-tumble limited in children`s age, gender, and social status.