Comprehension of iconic gestures by chimpanzees and human children

Bohn, Manuel; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2015.09.001

Cited by 45 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A previous study found no spontaneous comprehension of iconic gestures by chimpanzees (Bohn et al., ). In experiment 1, we extended this earlier work in four ways.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Thirteen great apes (mean = 22.00 years, range = 7.00–42.00) participated in the study, including five bonobos ( Pan paniscus , four females), four chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes , three females) and four orangutans ( Pongo abelii , three females). One of the chimpanzees had participated in a previous study (Bohn et al., ). Two additional chimpanzees were initially part of the sample but had to be excluded because they lost interest in the study or were unable to operate the apparatuses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Starting with the test right away in one group allowed us to re‐assess spontaneous comprehension without training as in Bohn et al. (). The training had two phases (details below).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on observations alone, it remains unclear whether the iconicity in these gestures lies in the eye of the (human) beholder or plays a role in them being used and understood. The only experimental study so far found no evidence for spontaneous comprehension in chimpanzees (Bohn, Call, & Tomasello, ). In this study, participants first learned how to retrieve a reward from two apparatuses together with an experimenter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Natural reference: A phylo‐ and ontogenetic perspective on the comprehension of iconic gestures and vocalizations

Bohn

Call

Tomasello

2018

Developmental Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The recognition of iconic correspondence between signal and referent has been argued to bootstrap the acquisition and emergence of language. Here, we study the ontogeny, and to some extent the phylogeny, of the ability to spontaneously relate iconic signals, gestures, and/or vocalizations, to previous experience. Children at 18, 24, and 36 months of age (N = 216) and great apes (N = 13) interacted with two apparatuses, each comprising a distinct action and sound. Subsequently, an experimenter mimicked either the action, the sound, or both in combination to refer to one of the apparatuses. Experiments 1 and 2 found no spontaneous comprehension in great apes and in 18‐month‐old children. At 24 months of age, children were successful with a composite vocalization‐gesture signal but not with either vocalization or gesture alone. At 36 months, children succeeded both with a composite vocalization‐gesture signal and with gesture alone, but not with vocalization alone. In general, gestures were understood better compared to vocalizations. Experiment 4 showed that gestures were understood irrespective of how children learned about the corresponding action (through observation or self‐experience). This pattern of results demonstrates that iconic signals can be a powerful way to establish reference in the absence of language, but they are not trivial for children to comprehend and not all iconic signals are created equal.

show abstract

“…A previous study found no spontaneous comprehension of iconic gestures by chimpanzees (Bohn et al., ). In experiment 1, we extended this earlier work in four ways.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Starting with the test right away in one group allowed us to re‐assess spontaneous comprehension without training as in Bohn et al. (). The training had two phases (details below).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Natural reference: A phylo‐ and ontogenetic perspective on the comprehension of iconic gestures and vocalizations

Bohn

Call

Tomasello

2018

Developmental Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In principle, this definition would include numerous cases of described intention movements and gesture types where form resembles function, such as a beckoning gesture in sexual initiations (Genty & Zuberbühler, ), a ‘hip shimmy’ (involving rapid lateral hip movements) resulting in genito‐genital rubbing (Douglas & Moscovice, ), or an outstretched leg of a mother persuading her infant to climb on her for joint travel (Fröhlich, Wittig & Pika, ). Although experimental studies reveal that great apes have difficulties with spontaneously comprehending iconic signals, it was also shown that they learn them faster than arbitrary gestures (Bohn, Call & Tomasello, ; Bohn et al ., ). In conclusion, the presence of iconicity is more established and striking in the motor‐visual domain, and has not been shown in the vocal‐auditory domain of non‐human species.…”

Section: Cognitive Mechanisms Identified In Non‐human Gestures and Vomentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The presence of divergent and independent research traditions in the gestural and vocal domains of primate communication has resulted in major discrepancies in the definition and operationalization of cognitive concepts. However, in recent years, accumulating evidence from behavioural and neurobiological research has shown that both human and non‐human primate communication is inherently multimodal. It is therefore timely to integrate the study of gestural and vocal communication. Herein, we review evidence demonstrating that there is no clear difference between primate gestures and vocalizations in the extent to which they show evidence for the presence of key language properties: intentionality, reference, iconicity and turn‐taking. We also find high overlap in the neurobiological mechanisms producing primate gestures and vocalizations, as well as in ontogenetic flexibility. These findings confirm that human language had multimodal origins. Nonetheless, we note that in great apes, gestures seem to fulfil a carrying (i.e. predominantly informative) role in close‐range communication, whereas the opposite holds for face‐to‐face interactions of humans. This suggests an evolutionary shift in the carrying role from the gestural to the vocal stream, and we explore this transition in the carrying modality. Finally, we suggest that future studies should focus on the links between complex communication, sociality and cooperative tendency to strengthen the study of language origins.

show abstract

On Space Geckos and Urban Apes

Call

2018

Diversity in Harmony – Insights From Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Comprehension of iconic gestures by chimpanzees and human children

Cited by 45 publications

References 52 publications

Natural reference: A phylo‐ and ontogenetic perspective on the comprehension of iconic gestures and vocalizations

Natural reference: A phylo‐ and ontogenetic perspective on the comprehension of iconic gestures and vocalizations

Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations

On Space Geckos and Urban Apes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About