Real Fighting Research Articles

Partner preferences in middle school children's playful fighting and chasing: A test of some competing functional hypotheses

Observations of 8- and 11-year-old middle school children's participation in rough- and-tumble play (r/t) were related to sociometric data for liking and strength in order to examine functional hypotheses. Partners in r/t liked each other more than chance predicted, and tended to be closely matched for strength. Neither initiators of r/t episodes nor recipients were consistently perceived to be the strongest partner. The data provide some, though not absolute, support for the views that r/t is functionally related to affiliation, dominance, and to the development of real fighting skills. Some limitations of this approach, and some alternatives, are discussed.

Differences between playfighting and serious fighting among Zapotec children

Patterns of fighting and playfighting were observed among Zapotec-speaking children of Oaxaca, Mexico, as part of an ethological field study. Focal and incident sampling techniques were employed to record the behavior of 3–8 years olds. It was found that real fighting could be distinguished from playfighting on the basis of facial and vocal intention signals displayed by the children of this age group. These two classes of behavior differed in a number of ways, including rate of occurrence, mean duration of episodes, variability of constituent actions, frequency of wrestling and chase-flee behaviors, level of restraint, number of partners, and reactions of nonparticipating children. The findings are discussed in relation to information on fighting and playfighting from other studies of human children. Limited phylogenetic comparison are also made. It is suggested that in studies of human children, play aggression should not be lumped together with real aggression, as is sometimes done, because these are motivationally distinct types of behavior.

Episodic excitation and changes in aggressive behavior induced by apomorphine in rats subjected to rem sleep deprivation

Behavioral changes induced by apomorphine in normal, pseudodeprived (control) and REM sleep-deprived AM-2/TOR inbred rats were investigated. Deprived rats exhibited aggressive behavior for nearly 30 min in the absence of administration of drug, this effect not being observed in normal or control rats. The administration of apomorphine (1, 2 and 5 mg kg ) 5min before the test elicited short periods of aggressive behavior in normal and control rats, but decreased the total duration of aggressive behavior in deprived rats. However, the deprived rats exhibited a more intense aggressive behavior, since the frequency of real fighting events was enhanced. The administration of apomorphine to deprived rats elicited stereotyped behavior. Enhancement of stereotyped behavior by increasing the dose was correlated with a reduction in the duration of aggressive behavior. Apomorphine also induced short episodes of intense excitability, manifested by increased locomotor activity, jumping and vocalization. This behavioral response was termed “episodic excitation”. Deprived rats were significantly more sensitive to apomorphine-induced episodic excitation than normal and control rats. The episodic excitation, stereotyped and aggressive behavior displayed by deprived rats, injected with apomorphine, alternated with time. The results demonstrate increased responsiveness to apomorphine after deprivation of REM sleep. The possible mechanism for such interaction is discussed.

Fossils from the Western Front

When the American First Army took over a sector of the western front in 1918 the troops entered trenches that had been held by the French almost from the beginning of the war. These trenches were located in a so-called quiet sector, north and northwest of the fortress of Toul, and because of a minimum of artillery bombardment were in a fair state of preservation. The trenches were for the most part dug in soil containing soft limestone with some shale, the stone being sufficiently rotten as to allow of its being worked with pick and shovel. The soil from the trenches, thrown out on either side, had by 1918 become so disintegrated that the finer particles had settled or disappeared, leaving the more resistant particles on the surface. Among these were many fossils of the Carboniferous, for the rocks of this sector are Carboniferous and form the northeast rim of the great Paris basin. In the bustle and excitement incident to taking position on the line there was little opportunity to study fossils, but as things settled a bit the thoughts of home brought memories of the collection of fossils gathered from the hillsides of Wyandotte, and a desire was formed to add to that collection some of the specimens from the land of our French comrades. And so a number of fine brachiopods, ammonites, lamellibranchs, echinoderms and crinoid stems were gathered from the edges of,the trenches and from shell holes at such times as it was possible to get one's head above the top without arousing enemy snipers. The brachiopods resembled our Terebratula, Atrypa, Pugnax, Spirifer, etc.; forms of ammonites also resembled ours, and there were specimens resembling Archaeocidoris, Schizodus and Laphophyllum. As soon as the Yanks became settled in their new position it ceased to be a quiet sector. The change can be best illustrated by an incident that occurred about this time. For three years the hostile armies had watched each other with an occasional exchange of shots but with no real fighting. Midway between the lines was the wreck of a small village which contained a well and 343