Program Schedule

Sunday 14th, May
Arrival in Erice and Registration
After dinner reception at the Marsala Room (San Rocco)
Informal introduction to the Conference by the Workshop Directors while drinking wine in the Marsala Room (San Rocco)!

Monday 15th, May
Workshop opening
  • 09:00-09:10 - Welcome by Stefano Parmigiani, the director of the International School of Ethology “Danilo Mainardi”
Session #1 - morning
  • 09:10-10:00 - Gordon Burghardt (University of Tennessee Knoxville, Departments of Psychology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) : The enduring search for the nature of play
  • 10:00-10:20 - coffee break
  • 10:20-11:10 - Marek Spinka (Czech University of Life Sciences, faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources) : Play and wellbeing
  • 11:10-12:00 - Heather Hill (St. Mary’s University, Department of Psychology) : Having a whale of a time!
  • 12:00-12:50 - Jamie Ahloy Dallaire (Laval University, Department of Animal Sciences) : Commonalities and differences between types of play
  • 12:50-14:30 - Lunch
Session #2 - afternoon
  • 14:30-15:20 - Pichon Swann (Geneva School of Health Science) : Investigating the impact of video game play on affect and cognition
  • 15:20-16:50 - Selected short presentations (6 presentations)
  • 16:50-17:10 - coffee break
  • 17:10-18:00 - General discussion
  • 18:00-19:00 - Poster session

Tuesday 16th, May
Session #3 - morning
  • 09:00-09:50 - Sergio Pellis (University of Lethbridge, Department of Neuroscience) : Play and the development of the social brain
  • 09:50-10:40 - Marijke Achtenberg (Universiteit Utrecht, Departement Dier in Wetenschap en Maatschappij) : Neural Mechanisms of Social Play Behaviour
  • 10:40-11:00 - coffee break
  • 11:00-11:50 - Heidi Lesscher (Universiteit Utrecht, Departement Dier in Wetenschap en Maatschappij) : Healthy Play Better Coping: a perspective on play in health and disease
  • 11:50-12:40 - Tracy R. Gleason (Wellesley College, Department of Psychology) : Play, imagination, and sociocognitive development
  • 12:40 - Excursion to Mozia Island – pocket lunch

Wednesday 17th, May
Session #4 - morning
  • 09:00-09:50 - Elisabetta Palagi (University of Pisa, Department of Biology) : Play and the evolution of tolerant and cooperative societies
  • 09:50-10:40 - Jean-Baptiste Leca (University of Lethbridge, Department of Psychology) : Object play and tool use: an elusive connection
  • 10:40-11:00 - coffee break
  • 11:00-11:50 - Martine Hausberger (Université de Rennes) : Play, Coping and Welfare
  • 11:50-12:40 - Giada Cordoni (University of Turin, Department of Life Sciences and System Biology) : Play as a tool to understand the domestication syndrome
  • 12:40-14:30 - Lunch break
Session #5 - afternoon
  • 14:30-15:20 - Michael J Kuba (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Physics and Biology Unit) : Play in invertebrates
  • 15:20-16:10 - Masaki Shimada (Teikyo University of Science, Department of Animal Science) : Social networks and social play
  • 16:10-16:30 - Cofee break
  • 16:30-17:20 - Fausto Caruana (Italian National Research Council, CNR, Institute of Neuroscience) : Exploring Human Laughter and its contagion using neuroscientific techniques
  • 17:20-18:20 - Selected short presentations (4 presentations)
  • 18:20-19:00 - General Discussion and Closing Remarks
  • 20:30-22:30 - Social Dinner

Thursday 18th, May
Departures