Register to read the introduction…
However, studies of a multitude of different species has shown that this is simply not true. Both Hauser and Page cite a variety of studies that disprove what Don Griffin has called the "groans of pain" theory. Page discusses evidence for a specific vocabulary of vocalizations in animals such as the chicken, squirrel, meerkat, and prairie dog. Cockerels have different alarm calls for ground and aerial predators. It is unlikely that a predator would elicit a different emotional state in the chicken depending on whether it was on the ground or in the
…show more content…
His definition of the word is something that "represents a pairing of a concept with a sound structure and associated syntactic property (p 178)." Words differ from "groans of pain" in that there is an arbitrary connection between the sound structure of the word and what it refers to. Groan and cries directly represent the emotional state they are connected with and are thus not words. Vervet alarm calls seem to fit Hauser's definition of the word in that they are arbitrary sounds that refer to specific contexts. Whether they mean "Hide in a bush!" or "Snake in the area!" does not matter. The point is that they refer to something other than the internal state of the vervet making the …show more content…
If an adult sees a predator such as was indicated by the younger vervet's alarm call; the adult will then take up that alarm call himself. This scenario reinforces the correct use of alarm call on the part of the younger vervet. Conversely, Cheney and Seyfarth observed that infants typically respond to alarm calls by first looking to an adult in their group. Infants that did not look to an adult upon hearing an alarm call made more incorrect responses to the alarm call, thus increasing their chances of getting killed. These observations suggest vervets learn to produce and respond to alarm calls by modeling their behavior after the adults in their group. The same is true for human infants and their production and responding to
His definition of the word is something that "represents a pairing of a concept with a sound structure and associated syntactic property (p 178)." Words differ from "groans of pain" in that there is an arbitrary connection between the sound structure of the word and what it refers to. Groan and cries directly represent the emotional state they are connected with and are thus not words. Vervet alarm calls seem to fit Hauser's definition of the word in that they are arbitrary sounds that refer to specific contexts. Whether they mean "Hide in a bush!" or "Snake in the area!" does not matter. The point is that they refer to something other than the internal state of the vervet making the …show more content…
If an adult sees a predator such as was indicated by the younger vervet's alarm call; the adult will then take up that alarm call himself. This scenario reinforces the correct use of alarm call on the part of the younger vervet. Conversely, Cheney and Seyfarth observed that infants typically respond to alarm calls by first looking to an adult in their group. Infants that did not look to an adult upon hearing an alarm call made more incorrect responses to the alarm call, thus increasing their chances of getting killed. These observations suggest vervets learn to produce and respond to alarm calls by modeling their behavior after the adults in their group. The same is true for human infants and their production and responding to