Joint attention skills in wild Arabian babblers (
            <i>Turdoides squamiceps</i>
            ): a consequence of cooperative breeding?

Mocha, Yitzchak Ben; Mundry, Roger; Pika, Simone

doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0147

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(121 reference statements)

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“…It is one of the few empirical demonstrations that meets all of the intentionality criteria set by Townsend et al in a single communication system [12], providing more solid evidence than most primate species to date. More recently, convincing evidence of intentional communication has also been found in Arabian babblers [47], and it is likely that the wider application of Townsend et al's criteria will reveal more intentional communication across a broader range of species.…”

Section: Intentional Signal Production In Other Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scratching beneath the surface: intentionality in great ape signal production

Graham

Wilke

Lahiff

et al. 2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Despite important similarities having been found between human and animal communication systems, surprisingly little research effort has focussed on whether the cognitive mechanisms underpinning these behaviours are also similar. In particular, it is highly debated whether signal production is the result of reflexive processes, or can be characterized as intentional. Here, we critically evaluate the criteria that are used to identify signals produced with different degrees of intentionality, and discuss recent attempts to apply these criteria to the vocal, gestural and multimodal communicative signals of great apes and more distantly related species. Finally, we outline the necessary research tools, such as physiologically validated measures of arousal, and empirical evidence that we believe would propel this debate forward and help unravel the evolutionary origins of human intentional communication. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

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Section: Intentional Signal Production In Other Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scratching beneath the surface: intentionality in great ape signal production

Graham

Wilke

Lahiff

et al. 2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…By the Late Pleistocene, selection pressures from a range of new subsistence and socioecological challenges also favoured greater inter-individual coordination [38,[88][89][90]. It is within this broader context that recent proposals need to be understood that link cooperative breeding to the evolution of enhanced capacities not only for joint attention [91] but also for language [61,72,92].…”

Section: (D) Incorporate Others' Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence of emotionally modern humans: implications for language and learning

Hrdy¹,

Burkart

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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According to the Cooperative Breeding Hypothesis, apes with the life-history attributes of those in the line leading to the genus Homo could not have evolved unless male and female allomothers had begun to help mothers care for and provision offspring. As proposed elsewhere, the unusual way hominins reared their young generated novel phenotypes subsequently subjected to Darwinian social selection favouring those young apes best at monitoring the intentions, mental states and preferences of others and most motivated to attract and appeal to caretakers. Not only were youngsters acquiring information in social contexts different from those of other apes, but they would also have been emotionally and neurophysiologically different from them in ways that are relevant to how humans learn. Contingently delivered rewards to dependents who attracted and ingratiated themselves with allomothers shaped their behaviours and vocalizations and transformed the way developing youngsters learned from others and internalized their preferences. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals’.

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“…This prediction does not hold true for Arabian babblers since mating pairs usually isolate themselves for several minutes only (Y.B.M. 2019, personal observations) [27], nor for humans (since ovulation is concealed from women and men [3]).…”

Section: (C) the Mating Exclusiveness Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do human and non-human species conceal mating? The cooperation maintenance hypothesis

Mocha

2020

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Despite considerable cultural differences, a striking uniformity is argued to exist in human preferences for concealing sexual intercourse from the sensory perception of conspecifics. However, no systematic accounts support this claim, with only limited attempts to understand the selective pressures acting on the evolution of this preference. Here, I combine cross-cultural and cross-species comparative approaches to investigate these topics. First, an analysis of more than 4572 ethnographies from 249 cultures presents systematic evidence that the preference to conceal mating is widespread across cultures. Second, I argue that current anthropological hypotheses do not sufficiently explain why habitual concealment of mating evolved in humans but is only seldom exhibited by other social species. Third, I introduce the cooperation maintenance hypothesis, which postulates that humans, and a specific category of non-human species, conceal matings to prevent sexual arousal in witnesses (proximate explanation). This allows them to simultaneously maintain mating control over their partner(s) and cooperation with group members who are prevented from mating (ultimate explanations). I conclude by presenting a comparative framework and predictions to be tested across species and human cultures.

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Joint attention skills in wild Arabian babblers ( Turdoides squamiceps ): a consequence of cooperative breeding?

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

Scratching beneath the surface: intentionality in great ape signal production

Scratching beneath the surface: intentionality in great ape signal production

The emergence of emotionally modern humans: implications for language and learning

Why do human and non-human species conceal mating? The cooperation maintenance hypothesis

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