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Ostensive Communication: Its Creation, Evolution, and Stability

明示沟通：它的产生、演变和稳定性

基本信息

批准号：
ES/K001647/1
负责人：
Thomas Scott-Phillips
金额：
$ 22.02万
依托单位：
Durham University
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2012 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FK001647%2F1
关键词：
Ostensive Communication Its Creation Evolution

项目摘要

Communication is a fundamental component of human life and society. Most of our communication is ostensive: when we communicate, not only do we provide evidence for what we intend to communicate - we also provide evidence for the fact that we are trying to communicate. Ostension is the difference between a pointed finger that is a by-product of looking at your watch, and a pointed finger that is designed to direct someone's attention. Our capacity for ostension means that any behaviour has the potential to be used in a communicative way. Indeed, much human communication is ostensive. It provides the foundation for many human institutions, including both language and culture. It appears to be species-unique, and it has clear evolutionary advantages. Despite this, many basic empirical questions about it are unaddressed. I will use the Future Leaders scheme to experimentally investigate a range of fundamental questions about how ostensive communication systems operate.For example, a growing body of research investigates how communication systems evolve from simple, single-word states to more stable and complex states. There are good theoretical reasons to think that the ways in which these communication systems evolve will change if they are used for ostensive communication. I will test these proposals. This line of research will shed light on the origins and evolution of language - the single most salient and important instance of ostensive communication systems.A second line of research will investigate the general qualities that distinguish ostensive behaviour from otherwise similar behaviour (e.g. the pointing example - what distinguishes the two different points?). I will use an interactive, two-player computer game that I have previously used to investigate how communication systems emerge. In a series of experiments, I will adapt this game a variety of ways in order to determine the basic properties that make a behaviour ostensive. For example: Are ostensive behaviours those that are otherwise irrational? Can the absence of movement be used in an ostensive way? Answers to these questions will help determine what cognitive mechanisms are necessary for ostensive communication, and are hence pre-requisite for the origins of language.Finally, I will also investigate what processes keep ostensive communication evolutionarily stable. If communicators are dishonest, then listeners should ignore them, and the system will collapse, just as it does in Aesop's fable of The Boy That Cried Wolf. Evolutionary theory suggests a number of ways in which communication systems can be made stable. In particular, when verification of the veracity of a signal is likely to be available, then low-cost signaling can be kept stable by reputation effects; but if verification is not possible, then costly signals (called handicaps) will be used instead. (Handicaps are signals that are unnecessarily expensive for the signaler, but where the expense acts as a guarantee. Conspicuous consumption, such as very expensive jewelry, is often suggested as an example, since it reveals something about the wealth of its owner.) I will test this hypothesis in collaboration with Prof. Stuart West, an evolutionary biologist at the U. of Oxford.This research is highly interdisciplinary. Therefore once I have completed the experimental research, I will integrate my findings with current theories about a range of topics. In particular, I anticipate that my research will resolve a number of debates about the origins of human language, and help to explain why only humans have such an open-ended, flexible communication system. Because of the broad, general interest of such topics, I will, in addition to the usual academic channels, present my research and findings at science festivals, present and discuss them on a purpose-built website, and write summary articles for popular yet serious outlets such as New Scientist and Scientific American.

通信是人类生活和社会的基本组成部分。我们的大多数交流都是明示的：当我们交流时，我们不仅为我们打算交流的内容提供证据-我们还为我们试图交流的事实提供证据。明显是指之间的差异，是一个指向的手指，是一个副产品，看你的手表，和一个指向的手指，旨在引导别人的注意力。我们的明示能力意味着任何行为都有可能以交际的方式使用。事实上，许多人类交流都是明示的。它为许多人类制度提供了基础，包括语言和文化。它似乎是物种特有的，并且具有明显的进化优势。尽管如此，许多关于它的基本经验问题仍然没有得到解决。我将使用未来领导者计划来实验性地研究一系列关于明示交流系统如何运作的基本问题。例如，越来越多的研究探讨了交流系统如何从简单的单词状态发展到更稳定和复杂的状态。有很好的理论理由认为，这些通信系统的发展方式将改变，如果他们用于明示的沟通。我将测试这些建议。这条研究路线将阐明语言的起源和演变-明示交际系统中最突出和最重要的实例。第二条研究路线将调查明示行为与其他类似行为的一般特征（例如，指向示例-是什么区分了这两个不同点？）。我将使用一个交互式的，两个玩家的电脑游戏，我以前用来研究如何通信系统的出现。在一系列的实验中，我将以各种方式调整这个游戏，以确定使行为明示的基本属性。例如：明示行为是那些非理性的行为吗？动作的缺席可以用在明示的方式中吗？这些问题的答案将有助于确定什么样的认知机制是明示交际所必需的，因此也是语言起源的先决条件。最后，我还将研究是什么样的过程使明示交际保持进化稳定。如果沟通者不诚实，那么听众就应该忽略他们，系统就会崩溃，就像伊索寓言《狼来了的男孩》中的情况一样。进化理论提出了许多使通信系统稳定的方法。特别是，当信号的真实性的验证可能是可用的，那么低成本的信号可以保持稳定的声誉效应;但如果验证是不可能的，那么昂贵的信号（称为障碍）将被使用。（障碍是信号，是不必要的昂贵的信号，但费用作为一种保证。炫耀性消费，如非常昂贵的珠宝，经常被认为是一个例子，因为它揭示了其所有者的财富。我将与美国进化生物学家斯图尔特·韦斯特教授合作验证这一假设。这项研究是高度跨学科的。因此，一旦我完成了实验研究，我将把我的发现与当前关于一系列主题的理论结合起来。特别是，我预计我的研究将解决一些关于人类语言起源的争论，并有助于解释为什么只有人类才有这样一个开放的，灵活的交流系统。由于这些话题的广泛性和普遍性，除了通常的学术渠道，我将在科学节上展示我的研究和发现，在一个专门建立的网站上展示和讨论它们，并为流行但严肃的媒体撰写摘要文章，如《新科学家》和《科学美国人》。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（10）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

An evolutionary approach to emotional communication

DOI：
10.1016/j.pragma.2013.06.007
发表时间：
2013-12-01
期刊：
JOURNAL OF PRAGMATICS
影响因子：
1.6
作者：
Dezecache, Guillaume;Mercier, Hugo;Scott-Phillips, Thomas C.
通讯作者：
Scott-Phillips, Thomas C.

How Darwinian is cultural evolution?

DOI：
10.1098/rstb.2013.0368
发表时间：
2014-05-19
期刊：
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
影响因子：
0
作者：
Claidière N;Scott-Phillips TC;Sperber D
通讯作者：
Sperber D

Can cultural evolution bridge scientific continents?

文化进化能否跨越科学大陆？