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Grund C, Badihi G, Graham KE, Safryghin A, Hobaiter C. GesturalOrigins: A bottom-up framework for establishing systematic gesture data across ape species. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:986-1001. [PMID: 36922450 PMCID: PMC10830607 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02082-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Current methodologies present significant hurdles to understanding patterns in the gestural communication of individuals, populations, and species. To address this issue, we present a bottom-up data collection framework for the study of gesture: GesturalOrigins. By "bottom-up", we mean that we minimise a priori structural choices, allowing researchers to define larger concepts (such as 'gesture types', 'response latencies', or 'gesture sequences') flexibly once coding is complete. Data can easily be re-organised to provide replication of, and comparison with, a wide range of datasets in published and planned analyses. We present packages, templates, and instructions for the complete data collection and coding process. We illustrate the flexibility that our methodological tool offers with worked examples of (great ape) gestural communication, demonstrating differences in the duration of action phases across distinct gesture action types and showing how species variation in the latency to respond to gestural requests may be revealed or masked by methodological choices. While GesturalOrigins is built from an ape-centred perspective, the basic framework can be adapted across a range of species and potentially to other communication systems. By making our gesture coding methods transparent and open access, we hope to enable a more direct comparison of findings across research groups, improve collaborations, and advance the field to tackle some of the long-standing questions in comparative gesture research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Grund
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - Gal Badihi
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Kirsty E Graham
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Alexandra Safryghin
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
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2
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Gibson V, Boysen ST, Hobaiter C, Davila-Ross M. Object use in communication of semi-wild chimpanzees. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1521-1537. [PMID: 37314595 PMCID: PMC10442273 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01792-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Object interactions play an important role in human communication but the extent to which nonhuman primates incorporate objects in their social interactions remains unknown. To better understand the evolution of object use, this study explored how objects are used in social interactions in semi-wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We used an observational approach focusing on naturally occurring object actions where we examined their use and tested whether the production of object actions was influenced by the recipients' visual attention as well as by colony membership. The results show that chimpanzees adjusted both the type of object used, and the modality of object actions to match the visual attention of the recipient, as well as colony differences in the use of targeted object actions. These results provide empirical evidence highlighting that chimpanzees use objects in diverse ways to communicate with conspecifics and that their use may be shaped by social factors, contributing to our understanding of the evolution of human nonverbal communication, language, and tool use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Violet Gibson
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK
| | | | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Marina Davila-Ross
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK.
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3
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Mielke A, Carvalho S. Chimpanzee play sequences are structured hierarchically as games. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14294. [PMID: 36411837 PMCID: PMC9675342 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social play is ubiquitous in the development of many animal species and involves players adapting actions flexibly to their own previous actions and partner responses. Play differs from other behavioural contexts for which fine-scale analyses of action sequences are available, such as tool use and communication, in that its form is not defined by its function, making it potentially more unpredictable. In humans, play is often organised in games, where players know context-appropriate actions but string them together unpredictably. Here, we use the sequential nature of play elements to explore whether play elements in chimpanzees are structured hierarchically and follow predictable game-like patterns. Based on 5,711 play elements from 143 bouts, we extracted individual-level play sequences of 11 Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of different ages from the Bossou community. We detected transition probabilities between play elements that exceeded expected levels and show that play elements form hierarchically clustered and interchangeable groups, indicative of at least six games that can be identified from transition networks, some with different roles for different players. We also show that increased information about preceding play elements improved predictability of subsequent elements, further indicating that play elements are not strung together randomly but that flexible action rules underlie their usage. Thus, chimpanzee play is hierarchically structured in short games which limit acceptable play elements and allow players to predict and adapt to partners' actions. This "grammar of action" approach to social interactions can be valuable in understanding cognitive and communicative abilities within and across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Mielke
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Susana Carvalho
- Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal
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4
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Amici F, Liebal K. The social dynamics of complex gestural communication in great and lesser apes ( Pan troglodytes, Pongo abelii, Symphalangus syndactylus). Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210299. [PMID: 35934967 PMCID: PMC9358312 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Gestures play an essential role in primate communication. However, little is known about how complexity of gestural use (in terms of repertoire size, intentional use, flexibility and use of gestural sequences) relates to individual and dyadic measures of sociality and whether more complex gestural use is more effective in eliciting a response. We observed 19 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 16 Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) and 18 siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus) to assess the complexity and effectiveness of their gestural use. We found that, beyond interspecies variation, the number of gesture types used in a dyad was higher when individuals had stronger social bonds; the probability of accounting for others' attention increased with age, especially for visual gestures; and sequences were more likely used by younger or socially less integrated individuals. In terms of effectiveness, older individuals and those using fewer sequences were more likely to be responded to, while across dyads, the probability of obtaining a response was higher when both individuals accounted for the other's attention and when they used fewer sequences. Overall, this confirms the link between sociality and complex gestural use and suggests that more complex forms of communication, at least in terms of intentional use, may be more effective at achieving communicative goals. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Amici
- Leipzig University, Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katja Liebal
- Leipzig University, Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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5
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Florkiewicz B, Campbell M. Chimpanzee facial gestures and the implications for the evolution of language. PeerJ 2021. [DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Great ape manual gestures are described as communicative, flexible, intentional, and goal-oriented. These gestures are thought to be an evolutionary pre-cursor to human language. Conversely, facial expressions are thought to be inflexible, automatic, and derived from emotion. However, great apes can make a wide range of movements with their faces, and they may possess the control needed to gesture with their faces as well as their hands. We examined whether chimpanzee facial expressions possess the four important gesture properties and how they compare to manual gestures. To do this, we quantified variables that have been previously described through largely qualitative means. Chimpanzee facial expressions met all four gesture criteria and performed remarkably similar to manual gestures. Facial gestures have implications for the evolution of language. If other mammals also show facial gestures, then the gestural origins of language may be much older than the human/great ape lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Florkiewicz
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Matthew Campbell
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, United States of America
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6
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Rodrigues ED, Santos AJ, Veppo F, Pereira J, Hobaiter C. Connecting primate gesture to the evolutionary roots of language: A systematic review. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23313. [PMID: 34358359 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Comparative psychology provides important contributions to our understanding of the origins of human language. The presence of common features in human and nonhuman primate communication can be used to suggest the evolutionary trajectories of potential precursors to language. However, to do so effectively, our findings must be comparable across diverse species. This systematic review describes the current landscape of data available from studies of gestural communication in human and nonhuman primates that make an explicit connection to language evolution. We found a similar number of studies on human and nonhuman primates, but that very few studies included data from more than one species. As a result, evolutionary inferences remain restricted to comparison across studies. We identify areas of focus, bias, and apparent gaps within the field. Different domains have been studied in human and nonhuman primates, with relatively few nonhuman primate studies of ontogeny and relatively few human studies of gesture form. Diversity in focus, methods, and socio-ecological context fill important gaps and provide nuanced understanding, but only where the source of any difference between studies is transparent. Many studies provide some definition for their use of gesture; but definitions of gesture, and in particular, criteria for intentional use, are absent in the majority of human studies. We find systematic differences between human and nonhuman primate studies in the research scope, incorporation of other modalities, research setting, and study design. We highlight eight particular areas in a call to action through which we can strengthen our ability to investigate gestural communication's contribution within the evolutionary roots of human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelina D Rodrigues
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - António J Santos
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Flávia Veppo
- Department of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Joana Pereira
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK
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7
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Mucury Filho R, Camargo MR, Mendes FDC. Male-Directed Object Use by Proceptive Female Bearded Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Captivity. INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00195-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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8
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Stankova EP, Kruchinina OV, Shepovalnikov AN, Galperina EI. Evolution of the Central Mechanisms
of Oral Speech. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093020030011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Voinov PV, Call J, Knoblich G, Oshkina M, Allritz M. Chimpanzee Coordination and Potential Communication in a Two-touchscreen Turn-taking Game. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3400. [PMID: 32098996 PMCID: PMC7042301 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60307-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent years have seen a growing interest in the question of whether and how groups of nonhuman primates coordinate their behaviors for mutual benefit. On the one hand, it has been shown that chimpanzees in the wild and in captivity can solve various coordination problems. On the other hand, evidence of communication in the context of coordination problems is scarce. Here, we investigated how pairs of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) solved a problem of dynamically coordinating their actions for achieving a joint goal. We presented five pairs of chimpanzees with a turn-taking coordination game, where the task was to send a virtual target from one computer display to another using two touch-screens. During the joint practice of the game some subjects exhibited spontaneous gesturing. To address the question whether these gestures were produced to sustain coordination, we introduced a joint test condition in which we simulated a coordination break-down scenario: subjects appeared either unwilling or unable to return the target to their partner. The frequency of gesturing was significantly higher in these test trials than in the regular trials. Our results suggest that at least in some contexts chimpanzees can exhibit communicative behaviors to sustain coordination in joint action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel V Voinov
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Oktober 6 u. 7, H-1051, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Josep Call
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, D-04103, Germany
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JU, UK
| | - Günther Knoblich
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Oktober 6 u. 7, H-1051, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Marina Oshkina
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Oktober 6 u. 7, H-1051, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Matthias Allritz
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, D-04103, Germany.
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JU, UK.
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11
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Roberts AI, Roberts SGB. Persistence in gestural communication predicts sociality in wild chimpanzees. Anim Cogn 2018; 22:605-618. [PMID: 30338419 PMCID: PMC6689904 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-1219-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2017] [Revised: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
A key challenge for primates is coordinating behaviour with conspecifics in large, complex social groups. Gestures play a key role in this process and chimpanzees show considerable flexibility communicating through single gestures, sequences of gestures interspersed with periods of response waiting (persistence), and rapid sequences where gestures are made in quick succession, too rapid for the response waiting to have occurred. The previous studies examined behavioural reactions to single gestures and sequences, but whether this complexity is associated with more complex sociality at the level of the dyad partner and the group as a whole is not well understood. We used social network analysis to examine how the production of single gestures and sequences of gestures was related to the duration of time spent in proximity and individual differences in proximity in wild East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Pairs of chimpanzees that spent a longer duration of time in proximity had higher rates of persistence sequences, but not a higher rate of single gestures or rapid sequences. The duration of time spent in proximity was also related to the rate of responding to gestures, and response to gesture by activity change. These results suggest that communicative persistence and the type of response to gestures may play an important role in regulating social interactions in primate societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ilona Roberts
- Department of Psychology, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UK.
| | - Sam George Bradley Roberts
- Department of Psychology, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UK.,School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
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12
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The gesture 'Touch': Does meaning-making develop in chimpanzees' use of a very flexible gesture? Anim Cogn 2017; 22:535-550. [PMID: 29063986 PMCID: PMC6647888 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1136-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
In this bottom-up study of gesture, we focused on the details of a single gesture, Touch. We compared characteristics of use by three young chimpanzees with those of 11 adults, their interactive partners, housed in a semi-natural social group at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute (KUPRI) in Japan. Five hundred eighty-one observations of the gesture Touch were collected across a four-year time span. This single gesture had 36 different forms, was directed to 70 different target locations on the body of social partners, and occurred in 26 different contexts. Significant differences were found between infant and adult initiators in the form, target locations, and contexts of the gesture Touch. There was a wide diversity in form–location patterns within each context, and there were no form–location patterns specific to particular contexts. Thus, we demonstrate that this gesture exhibits flexibility in form and flexibility in use. The results from this study illustrate the importance of contextualized meaning in understanding flexibility in the gesture use of great apes.
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Ross KM, Bard KA, Matsuzawa T. Playful expressions of one-year-old chimpanzee infants in social and solitary play contexts. Front Psychol 2014; 5:741. [PMID: 25104942 PMCID: PMC4109582 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Accepted: 06/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of the context and development of playful expressions in chimpanzees is limited because research has tended to focus on social play, on older subjects, and on the communicative signaling function of expressions. Here we explore the rate of playful facial and body expressions in solitary and social play, changes from 12- to 15-months of age, and the extent to which social partners match expressions, which may illuminate a route through which context influences expression. Naturalistic observations of seven chimpanzee infants (Pan troglodytes) were conducted at Chester Zoo, UK (n = 4), and Primate Research Institute, Japan (n = 3), and at two ages, 12 months and 15 months. No group or age differences were found in the rate of infant playful expressions. However, modalities of playful expression varied with type of play: in social play, the rate of play faces was high, whereas in solitary play, the rate of body expressions was high. Among the most frequent types of play, mild contact social play had the highest rates of play faces and multi-modal expressions (often play faces with hitting). Social partners matched both infant play faces and infant body expressions, but play faces were matched at a significantly higher rate that increased with age. Matched expression rates were highest when playing with peers despite infant expressiveness being highest when playing with older chimpanzees. Given that playful expressions emerge early in life and continue to occur in solitary contexts through the second year of life, we suggest that the play face and certain body behaviors are emotional expressions of joy, and that such expressions develop additional social functions through interactions with peers and older social partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty M. Ross
- Department of Psychology, University of WinchesterWinchester, UK
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of PortsmouthPortsmouth, UK
| | - Kim A. Bard
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of PortsmouthPortsmouth, UK
| | - Tetsuro Matsuzawa
- Department of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan
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