Category Ask the Psychologist

Researchers discovered something interesting from watching young horses – called foals – at play: Foals that frolicked in the fields were more likely to survive to their first birthday. That must mean such “purposeless activity” plays some role in an animal’s survival. One theory, tested on lab rats, showed that rodents allowed to play were less stressed. (Rats that wrestle make chirping sounds that might be the rodent equivalent of gut-busting laughter.) Rats raised with playmates and fun objects developed bigger brains than rats that grew up in empty, boring cages. Just goes to show: Goofing off is good for you!

Picture Credit : Google

It might seem obvious why kitties pounce on mouse-shaped toys and puppies nip at each other’s ears in play battles. Many species of animals – particularly in the mammal and bird kingdoms – engage in such “purposeless activities.” Surely they’re practicing skills that will help them later in life, right? But that convenient theory doesn’t survive scientific scrutiny. Kittens forbidden from frolicking in lab experiments (by some seriously coldhearted scientists, no doubt) were no worse at catching mice as adults than cats that enjoyed a play-filled kittenhood. Same goes for coyotes, rodents, and other animals that engage in playful activities. Playtime doesn’t appear to reinforce social bonds in studies of closely knit animals such as meerkats or lions, either. Researchers are at a loss for why animals waste precious energy engaging in purposeless activities – especially since those activities might result in injury.

Picture Credit : Google

Software company Microsoft is working on a “universal translator” right now. This high-tech program not only translates your speech into the language of your choice, but it also plays your words aloud in your own voice when you make calls over the Internet using a smartphone or computer.

The existence of a universal translator is sometimes problematic in film and television productions from a logical perspective (for example, aliens who still speak English when no universal translator is in evidence and all characters appear to hear the appropriately translated speech instead of the original speech, the ability to speak in the language when direct translation is possible), and requires some suspension of disbelief when characters’ mouths move in sync with the translated words and not the original language; nonetheless, it removes the need for cumbersome and potentially extensive subtitles, and it eliminates the rather unlikely supposition that every other race in the galaxy has gone to the trouble of learning English.

Picture Credit : Google

The dolphin might be signaling that it’s getting ready to charge. The S-posture is not unique to dolphins in the Bahamas. It’s been documented in other species during intense aggressive situations, including in male humpback whales in Hawaii and captive beluga whales.
 

In addition to displaying a threat, Dolphins use the S-posture during courtship or mating. Denise Herzing has observed that a male will approach a female in an S-posture, and orient his rostrum to the female’s genital area while also buzzing that region with his echolocation. This genital buzz is a kind of foreplay from a distance, and its possible could even have a physical effect on the recipient female!

Picture Credit : Google

They’re trying to get a date. Pairs of male dolphins will develop elaborate underwater routines to impress females. Bottlenose dolphins that engage in synchronized swimming with their peers tend to see the glass as being half full.

Some of these dolphins frequently swim in tight-knit groups, and they’re the ones who appear the most optimistic, according to a study of eight captive animals.

In the experiment, individual dolphins were trained to swim towards one of two targets. They were taught that when they reach the left one, they receive applause and eye contact, while the one on the right delivers herring – the jackpot – and dolphins swim faster towards it.

Picture Credit : Google

They are yelling “back off!” dolphins sometimes snap their jaws when staking out territory, warning other dolphins to keep away. Dolphins can produce extremely loud sounds by rapidly clamping their jaws together. This behavior bangs their teeth together, producing an acoustic signal that transmits large distances. Jaw claps are generally understood to be an aggressive signal, used as a threat. But jaw clapping also occurs during play – the difference between real aggression and play aggression is often very subtle, just like in the case of humans.

Picture Credit : Google