Lecture 5 Flashcards
Communication is multimodal; explain the different types of communication
Olfactory communications like pheromones
Tactile communication
Visual communication like facial gestures
Auditory communication like language
How did Hockett think language differed between humans and other animals? Give evidence against this
It differed because we make referential calls, we have syntactical structure, we have non-iconic words (that don’t refer to objects) and we learn language, it isn’t instinctive.
Evidence against:
Vervet monkeys referential calls like alarm calls and chimpanzees have been known to scream.
Putty nose monkeys have syntactical structure as different sounds in different patterns mean different things.
There isn’t evidence against the non-iconic words one.
Capuchin monkeys learn language which was shown because they have different calls depending on the monkey’s status in the group.
Human language actually differs in terms of complexity, flexibility, intentionality and productivity.
Why did language evolve?
It evolved so that we could exchange information about the environment. It also helps exchange social information; demonstrating tool construction for example. Also, the social complexity model; complex social systems require more complex communicative systems (ToM: levels). A complex social system is one where many individuals communicate with many different people in different contexts. One study found that communicative repertoire positively correlated with a larger the group size and also correlated with longer interactions between other members. Additionally, animals that are more tolerant tend to have more gestures. The gestures are used for negotiation which is a counter-aggressive technique and therefore has a fitness advantage.
Discuss how language evolved?
Originally, it was thought that gestures were the first forms of language. This was thought because non-human primates use complex gestures that are more flexible than facial expressions/vocalisations, rely on receiver’s attentional state and have been used in sequences. Also, mirror neurons for gestures have been shown in the human equivalent of the Broca’s area which is in an ancient part of the brain and are both involved with language. However, if gestures are so complex then humans shouldn’t have needed to evolve language.
A later argument stated that it evolved from vocalisations in common ancestors. This was thought because our language is a simple elaboration of their vocal patterns which have syntactical structure. Also, rhesus macaques lip smack which seem speech like and have similar rhythms to human adults.
The most recent theory believes that it’s multimodal and has evolved from aspects like vocal, visual, olfactory and tactile. It’s a more complex theory, but it also explains the multimodal aspects of human language. There are multiple signals that can elicit multiple different responses, resulting in multiple categories of socialisation like independence or dominance. There is evidence for multimodal communication, for example vocal lip smacks are more likely followed by friendly contact due to vocal and visual recognition.
All these are evidence as pre-cursors for human language as they were most likely present in our common ancestor.
Discuss evidence for language being social
It has evolved to support cohesion, for example, bonding with the group via grooming them. Dunbar found that if the group size was too big then an alternative method of socialisation is used. Research has found that macaques who groom each other exchanged contact calls more. Almost of these calls occur when the pair aren’t grooming. Human populations are far too large for grooming. Instead, they socialise verbally also. Almost 20% of our life is spent socialising. This allows us to interact with multiple people at once, acquire information about others and detect free riders or people with accents. From this we can interact 3 times more efficiently than if we groomed, however, the issue is the cocktail party phenomenon; if there’s too many people talking, you tend to ignore the conversations and focus on one.
How do we use language and non-verbal information?
Language involves more than just information transfer. Sometimes language itself isn’t enough, for example non-verbal cues can be needed. Non-verbal cues include; prosodic cues (timing and pitch), facial expressions, gesticulation (dramatic gestures), body stance and non-verbal punctuation. Our body stance can be a key way to convey your emotion and/or mood towards the recipient.
ToM helps us use our language as it allows us to convey to people how other people are feeling. Additionally, not all information is conveyed with words so we need to actively listen and use our ToM to understand their point of view. This has lead us to use phrases that assume people have ToM but the phrase itself no longer has any meaning (e.g. you know what I mean) Also, our cognitions help us use language; the broca’s area and wernicke’s area are involved with the production and meaning of speech.
The emotional quality of language is also essential for bonding. For example, laughter is a proximate reinforcer for language as a bonding mechanism as it produces opiates. Play faces are often followed with affinitive behaviour. Laughter fills the gap left by grooming; it improves pain thresholds, it’s essential for flirting, it’s hard to interact without smiling or laughing, it’s mainly social as you rarely laugh alone and it binds language with emotional meaning.
From this we can understand that the emotional content involved with language mainly helps us understand how the language was used rather than the language itself. E.g. how we use body language helps convey emotional states. Or laughing is used to show a positive reaction to the recipient.
Discuss Herrmann’s study
They explored the cultural intelligence hypothesis; humans have developed specialised skills of social cognition. They tested this theory on chimps, orangutans and infants before schooling. They found that the infant performed just as well as the chimp on general cognition tasks but excelled in the social cognition tasks. This shows that although humans are better at social cognitions, they are still present among our common ancestors. This shows that socialising (using language to form bonds etc.) is a deeply rooted concept in our genetics. These enhanced cognitions could also be due to humans living in larger social groups than our common ancestors, tying in with the social complexity model.
Discuss Pollick’s study
Pollick found that there were multimodal methods of communication in both bonobos and chimpanzees as their visual and vocalisations were homologous with each other. In terms of gestures, bonobos were the only species that used gestures on top of vocalisations to add behaviour impact. They also found that gestures varied between the groups in each species. This shows that there are cultural impacts on gestures showing evidence for cultures.
Discuss Dunbar’s study
Another piece of research by Dunbar explored evidence for language being used socially. However, in this research, Dunbar explores the idea of the social brain. He argues that the cognitive demands of large social groups require large brains/executive function. There are many cognitive demands present among humans such as theory of mind and culture. They also found that almost all of the research supports this idea.
Discuss Rogers’ study
They explored kinesics and verbal comprehension. They found that kinesics (non-verbal body language) aid the comprehension of what people are saying even when you can’t see the speaker’s mouth. Additionally, when extra noise distractions are played in the background, kinesics are even more useful. This shows that speech alone isn’t always enough and we use language through our body stance also.
