Lesson 9: Animal Communication

Question 1

Communication is ____.
Language is ____.

Answer 1

• something we do
• a tool we use

Question 2

True or False:
Communication is a near universal of all living things.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What are 4 types of communication?

Answer 3

1. visual communication
2. auditory communication
3. tactile communication
4. chemical/olfactory communication

Question 4

What was Clever Hans able to do?

Answer 4

answer intellectual questions by tapping out answers or shaking his head

Question 5

How was Clever Hans debunked?

Answer 5

psychologist Pfungst found that Hans simply read the body movements, facial expressions, and heartbeats of the questioenr and audience

Question 6

What was Alex the Parrot able to do?

Answer 6

used model/rival training model to teach Alex concept formation

Question 7

True or False:
Alex the Parrot is an example of an animal acquiring human language.

Answer 7

False
Alex was not taught English; he was taught how to form concepts of English speech.

Question 8

What are the 9 properties of human language?

Answer 8

1. interchangeability
2. cultural transmission
3. arbitrariness
4. duality of patterning
5. displacement
6. prevarication
7. ambiguity
8. productivity
9. grammar

Question 9

interchangeability

Answer 9

a user can both transmit and receive messages (both sexes)

Question 10

cultural transmission

Answer 10

some aspect of a communciation system is learned from the environment

Question 11

arbitrariness

Answer 11

arbitrary relaitonship between a linguistic form and its meaning

Question 12

duality of patterning

Answer 12

smaller units can recombine into larger units
(ex: sounds –> words)

Question 13

displacement

Answer 13

human language can talk about the past, present, future, and abstract concepts

Question 14

prevarication

Answer 14

language can describe things that are not true/imaginary

Question 15

ambiguity

Answer 15

words can have several different meanings

Question 16

productivity

Answer 16

unlimited potential to express novel ideas

Question 17

grammar

Answer 17

rules governing language

Question 18

Why is studying primate communication important in determining of animals have language?

Answer 18

humans are primates

Question 19

Vervet monkeys have ____ different alarm calls for different animals: ____

Answer 19

• 3
• leopard, eagle, snake

Question 20

Which features of human language does the vervet monkey alarm call system exhibit?

Answer 20

• interchangeability
• arbitrariness
• prevarication

Question 21

Which features of human language does the vervet monkey alarm call system not exhibit?

Answer 21

• duality of patterning
• ambiguity

Question 22

Which features of human language could the vervet monkey alarm call system exhibit?

Answer 22

• displacement
• productivity
• cultural transmission

Question 23

Why can’t chimpanzees produce human language?

Answer 23

their vocal tract makes speech production impossible because their larynx is much higher

Question 24

True or False:
Washoe is an example of a primate that can use human sign language.

Answer 24

False
Washoe was not using ASL, and the data from the study is difficult to interpret.

Question 25

True or False:
The Washoe project suggests it’s possible to teach a chimpanzee a substantial vocabulary of arbitrary signs with an associated meaning, but not command language.

Answer 25

True

Question 26

Did Nim Chimpsky learn ASL?

Answer 26

No, because his signs utterances were mostly reactions or repetition.

Question 27

Did Koko the Gorilla learn ASL?

Answer 27

No, because she did not produce any productive or innovative language.

Question 28

True or False:
Although there is no evidence of animals gaining the abiliy to acquire human language, they can learn to associate referents to arbitrary signs and use signs spontaneously.

Answer 28

True

Question 29

True or False:
Animals can acquire human language.

Answer 29

False
Language is species specific to humans.