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Why is rough-and-tumble play (RTP) a complex system?
What is rough-and-tumble play (RTP)?
Rough-and-tumble play (RTP) can be said to be one type of play inside the general category of “physical play**,** which is observed in mammals as well as some reptiles and amphibians. (Whitebread et al., 2017, p. 6). This idea indicates that play generally and more specifically RTP is an important and necessary feature in human development.
This one specifically has characteristics of “aggressive behaviors such as wrestling, grappling, jumping, tumbling, and chasing, in a play context. RTP is viewed as ‘rough play’, alongside big body play, risky play, and pretend and fantasy forms such as war play” (Smith & StGeorge, 2023, p. 115) an important feature of this type of behavior is that parties involved in this activity exert and it is accompanied by a positive affect towards one other rather than negative affects such as anger, sadness or resentment (Jarvis, 2006).
What is a complex system?
A system can be defined as a set of interrelated parts that produce a certain behavior over some time and a prime example of a system can be a car, an organization, or a family (Meadows, 2008). In a system, the relationship between the parts themselves with the overarching system as well as the relationship between…
