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Play, animals, resources: The need for a rich (and challenging) comparative environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2013

Gordon M. Burghardt
Gordon M. Burghardt*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-0900. gburghar@utk.edu http://web.utk.edu/~gburghar/
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Abstract

Van de Vliert proposes a comprehensive explanation for differences in “freedoms” in diverse human populations based on climate and monetary resources. This intriguing approach, though derived from an evolutionary view covering all species, is based exclusively on human populations. This anthropocentric lens is challenged by ways of testing Van de Vliert's thesis more generally using playfulness as a surrogate for freedom.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 484 - 485
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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