University of Sussex
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

The effects of social deprivation on levels of social play in the laboratory rat Rattus norvegicus

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 18:56 authored by Graham Hole
Previous studies on a variety of species suggest the existence of a 'rebound' effect in social play: young animals may show heightened levels of play, following temporary deprivation of opportunity for social interaction.The present experiment investigated this phenomenon in greater detail, by measuring the effect of different types of social deprivation on levels of social play in prepubescent laboratory rats Rattus norvegicus. In one deprivation condition, subjects were denied whole-body contact, but not other forms of social interaction; in another condition, subjects experienced more extensive isolation. Both kinds of deprivation produced equally large post-deprivation increases in social play, suggesting that the important factor in producing the rebound effect is the absence of opportunity for whole-body contact - the predominant component of 'rough and tumble' social play.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Behavioural Processes

ISSN

03766357

Publisher

Elsevier

Issue

1

Volume

25

Page range

41-53

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC