The volumes devoted to the subject give full accounts of these plays of animals, and we need not repeat them; the psychologist is interested, however, mainly in the general function of play in the life of the individual animal and child, and in the psychological states and motives which it reveals.
Play, whether in animals or in man, shows certain general characteristics which we may briefly consider.
1.

The plays of animals are very largely instinctive, being indulged in for the most part without instruction.

The kitten leaps impulsively to the game.

Little dogs romp untaught, and fall, as do other animals also, when they are strong enough, into all the playful attitudes which mark their kind.

This is seen strikingly among adult animals in what are called the courtship plays.