yes, they play it on their own, so i posted it above because i felt it was an autonomous excessive action. i will try to see if they do it for as long a time when they're directed to, though, as i didn't notice how that went.
(edit: after being directed to play, they will only stop when their energy level is in the red, as in about to pass out.)
re: hugging, "when they are eating. when they're in the bathroom getting water, another one will go in there and hug them." if they're eating they will put the plate away as in, it disappears for a bit, they get the hug, and the plate reappears. same with the glass when the hugging in the bathroom. so i think it's more accurate to say that they pause actions all the time to hug, because sometimes they do resume them. when they're cooking, however, they will often not finish the recipe and simply keep chatting after they hug.