Footballers who feign injury on the pitch are using the same technique employed by early humans to manipulate others before speech developed


When you see a footballer such as Neymar (pictured) dive on the pitch you might lose a bit of respect for them. However, these devious squeals designed to deceive the referee could be an effective ancient survival strategy

Footballers who could convincingly simulate or exaggerate pain such as Neymar (pictured) may have had a survival advantage, according to research from the University of Sussex.

'While we all want to see such behaviour kicked out of the beautiful game, the vocal aspect of fakery – both on and off the pitch – is an effective strategy with evolutionary roots that may help explain how speech evolved.'

’Genuine pain causes both human infants and nonhuman mammals to produce cries, which are highly effective at engaging caregivers to respond and assist,' Dr Raine said.

'From toe stubs to childbirth, adults cry out in pain too – but evidence suggests that humans routinely exaggerate or minimise our vocal responses to genuine pain depending on context and mood.

'This suggests that pain cries aren't just honest windows into our internal state, but social tools to influence others.'

From an evolutionary perspective, for our ancestors navigating an environment with danger at every turn, this ability to convincingly simulate or exaggerate pain – and, crucially, elicit more urgent aid – may have provided a vital survival advantage', said Dr Raine.

He said the ability to produce and modulate pain cries and other vocalisations at will – as opposed to animal-like automatic vocal responses to stimuli – was likely a key step in our progression from making non-verbal noises to complex speech.

'The light bulb realisation that the voice can intentionally be used to influence others, rather than just honestly communicating information, paves the way for a whole street of light bulbs, and an increasingly flexible use of voice', said Dr Raine.

'Simulating pain in cries would logically lead to more complex and varied vocal deception, and eventually, the production of an arbitrary sound whose meaning is agreed culturally rather than biologically.

'Or in other words, the first words', he said.

WHAT MAKES THE BEST FOOTBALLER?

Skillful footballers are more likely to win matches than even the most athletic players, according to research from the University of Queensland.

A study found that balance and skill when controlling the ball can tip a game toward a win more than speed, strength, or fitness.

The researchers say their study could help football coaching academies focus their training on player attributes that are more likely to win games.

The Queensland team used analytical techniques developed in evolutionary biology to determine the impact of a player's skill, athletic ability, and balance on their success during a game.

They found that a player's skill that was the most important factor to their and their team's performance.

Players will higher skill were more likely to be more involved in games and have more successful contributions.

However, players with top athletic abilities like speed, strength and fitness were not associated with higher success rates in games.

'Higher skill allows players to have a greater impact on the game,'said lead researcher Dr Robbie Wilson, from the University of Queensland, Australia, told MailOnline.

'Accurate passing and greater ball control are more important for success than high speed, strength and fitness.

'It may be obvious to fans and coaches that players like Lionel Messi and Neymar are the best due to their skill.

'However, 90 per cent of research on soccer players is based on how to improve their speed, strength, and agility — not their skill.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...ly-humans.html