Differences between chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and humans (Homo sapiens) in the resting state of the index finger: Implications for pointing.

Povinelli, Daniel J.; Davis, Diana

doi:10.1037/0735-7036.108.2.134

Cited by 92 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Furthermore, contra Povinelli and Davis (1994), referential pointing with the index finger also occurs. In accordance with criteria from both the human and ape developmental literatures, pointing in our chimpanzee subjects, like pointing in human infants about 12 months of age, is an intentionally communicative gesture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has been well documented for all four great ape species" (p. 287). Nevertheless, a number of authorities have recently claimed either that apes do not point (Butterworth & Grover, 1988;Corballis, 1991;Donald, 1991) or that apes do not point with the index finger (Povinelli & Davis, 1994). For example, Donald (1991) remarked that the putative lack of intentionality in the communicative gestures of home-reared chimpanzees is "emphasized by the absence of spontaneous pointing behavior" (p. 127).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…For example, Donald (1991) remarked that the putative lack of intentionality in the communicative gestures of home-reared chimpanzees is "emphasized by the absence of spontaneous pointing behavior" (p. 127). With respect to indexical pointing, Povinelli and Davis (1994) asserted that, in laboratory-reared chimpanzees that exhibit pointlike gestures, "pointing with the index finger does not develop, even in those subjects trained to respond to human indexical pointing" (p. 134).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Indexical and referential pointing in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Leavens

Hopkins

Bard³

1996

Journal of Comparative Psychology

205

215

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The spontaneous index finger and other referential pointing in 3 adult, laboratory chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) who have not received language training is reported. Of 256 total observed points, 254 were emitted in the presence of a human to objects in the environment; therefore, the points were communicative. Indicators of intentional communication used by the subjects included attention-getting behaviors, gaze alternation, and persistence until reward. Thus, pointing by these chimpanzees was intentionally communicative. These data imply that perspective-taking and referential communication are generalized hominoid traits, given appropriate eliciting contexts. Index finger pointing was more frequent with the subjects' dominant hands. This study refutes claims that indexical or referential pointing is species-unique to humans or dependent on linguistic competence or explicit training.This study was initiated when a chimpanzee began to regularly point to accidentally dropped food items outside his home cage and beyond his reach in the presence of an experimenter. We sought to determine if this pointing behavior could be defined as intentional communication, and not simple reaching, by comparing the pointing behavior of this subject and two cagemates with pointing and intentional communication in human infants.The production and comprehension of referential pointing in preverbal humans have been increasingly studied in recent decades with respect to their significance for the attribution of intentionality in preverbal children

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Indexical and referential pointing in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Leavens

Hopkins

Bard³

1996

Journal of Comparative Psychology

205

215

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“…These factors need to be systematically manipulated in future research. Furthermore, as noted by Povinelli and Davis (1994), human and chimpanzee hands differ in the resting state of the index finger, in relaxed and anesthetized human and chimpanzee subjects, and this may have implications for the specific forms of pointing in apes and humans. Finally, whether this behavior is acquired through imitation, incidental operant conditioning, or some other learning process remains unclear; longitudinal studies will be required for clarification of this question.…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intentional communication by chimpanzees: A cross-sectional study of the use of referential gestures.

Leavens¹,

Hopkins²

1998

Developmental Psychology

250

199

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This study describes the use of referential gestures with concomitant gaze orienting behavior to both distal food objects and communicative interactants by 115 chimpanzees, ranging from 3 to 56 years of age. Gaze alternation between a banana and an experimenter was significantly associated with vocal and gestural communication. Pointing was the most common gesture elicited; 47 subjects pointed with the whole hand, whereas 6 subjects pointed with index fingers. Thus, communicative pointing is commonly used by laboratory chimpanzees, without explicit training to point, language training, or home rearing. Juveniles exhibited striking decrements in their propensity to communicate with adult male experimenters compared with older chimpanzees. Significantly fewer mother-reared chimpanzees exhibited gaze alternation compared with nursery-reared chimpanzees.Pointing in humans becomes an intentionally communicative gesture at about 12 months of age (e.g., Bates, Camaioni, & Volterra, 1975;Blake, O'Rourke, & Borzellino, 1994;Bruner, 1975;Franco & Butterworth, 1996;Leung & Rheingold, 1981). Intentional, mature use of pointing is defined as pointing with reference to the attentional status of an observer; this is measured by the gaze behavior of pointing individuals. One measure of gaze behavior used to identify intentional communication in humans is gaze alternation, in which the signaler alternates his or her gaze between a distal object or location and the face of the recipient of a gesture (e.g., Harding & Golinkoff, 1979;Tomasello, 1995).Recent work examining intentional communication and social referencing in apes in a variety of free-ranging and laboratory settings also relies on measures of visual orienting behavior to establish that communication by these close relatives of humans is "about" specific objects in the environment (e.g., Bard, 1990Bard, , 1992Gómez, Sarriá, & Tamarit, 1993;Leavens, Hopkins, & Bard, 1996;Miles, 1990;Russell, Bard, & Adamson, 1997;Tomasello, George, Kruger, Farrar, & Evans, 1985;de Waal, 1982). For example, Tomasello et al. (1985) reported that only the 2 oldest of their sample of 5 juvenile chimpanzees exhibited gaze alternation while gesturing. More recently, Russell et al. (1997), in their study of social referencing, found that each of 17 infant and juvenile chimpanzees exhibited referential glancing (gaze alternation) between a novel object and the faces of their primary caregivers. Russell et al. also reported that the rate of referential glancing significantly increased with age. The present study seeks to establish whether gaze alternation between a communicative interactant and a desirable food 1 Referential, in the present context, means that gestures are demonstrably about objects in the environment and is not meant to imply symbolic reference or representation.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David A. Leavens, Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602. Electronic mail may be sent to daleavens@aol.com.. Pointing...

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“…Gestures like declarative pointing to direct one's attention to something external or imperative pointing to recruit another to cooperate or attend to a shared goal are crucial to opening up the dyadic interactions between actors and recipients to involve third parties or external objects [Povinelli & Davis, 1994;. Humans develop these abilities in infancy as they learn to follow their mothers' gazes, focus jointly on objects or events with others, and begin pointing to direct others' attentions elsewhere [Liebal & Tomasello, 2009;Striano & Stahl, 2005].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering the role of social dynamics and positional behavior in gestural communication research

Smith

Delgado

2013

American J Primatol

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While the hominin fossil record cannot inform us on either the presence or extent of social and cognitive abilities that may have paved the way for the emergence of language, studying non-vocal communication among our closest living relatives, the African apes, may provide valuable information about how language originated. Although much has been learned from gestural signaling in non-human primates, we have not yet established how and why gestural repertoires vary across species, what factors influence this variation, and how knowledge of these differences can contribute to an understanding of gestural signaling's contribution to language evolution. In this paper, we review arguments surrounding the theory that language evolved from gestural signaling and suggest some important factors to consider when conducting comparative studies of gestural communication among African apes. Specifically, we propose that social dynamics and positional behavior are critical components that shape the frequency and nature of gestural signaling across species and we argue that an understanding of these factors could shed light on how gestural communication may have been the basis of human language. We outline predictions for the influence of these factors on the frequencies and types of gestures used across the African apes and highlight the importance of including these factors in future gestural communication research with primates. Am. J. Primatol. 75:891-903, 2013.

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Differences between chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and humans (Homo sapiens) in the resting state of the index finger: Implications for pointing.

Cited by 92 publications

References 26 publications

Indexical and referential pointing in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Indexical and referential pointing in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

Intentional communication by chimpanzees: A cross-sectional study of the use of referential gestures.

Considering the role of social dynamics and positional behavior in gestural communication research

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