Demonstration and Pantomime in the Evolution of Teaching

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2017 Apr 7

PMID 28382011

Citations 7

Authors

Peter Gardenfors

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Donald proposes that early evolved mimesis as a new form of cognition. This article investigates the mimesis hypothesis in relation to the evolution of teaching. The fundamental capacities that distinguish hominin teaching from that of other animals are demonstration and pantomime. A conceptual analysis of the instructional and communicative functions of demonstration and pantomime is presented. Archaeological evidence that demonstration was used for transmitting the Oldowan technology is summarized. It is argued that pantomime develops out of demonstration so that the primary objective of pantomime is that the onlooker learns the motoric patterns shown in the pantomime. The communicative use of pantomime is judged to be secondary. This use of pantomime is also contrasted with other forms of gestures. A key feature of the analysis is that the meaning of a pantomime is characterized by the force patterns of the movements. These force patterns form the core of a model of the cognitive mechanism behind pantomime. Finally, the role of pantomime in the evolution of language is also discussed.

Citing Articles

Persuasive conversation as a new form of communication in .

Ferretti F, Adornetti I Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2021; 376(1824):20200196.

PMID: 33745315 PMC: 8059545. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0196.

Pantomimic fossils in modern human communication.

Zywiczynski P, Wacewicz S, Lister C Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2021; 376(1824):20200204.

PMID: 33745309 PMC: 8059511. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0204.

Evidence for Teaching in an Australian Songbird.

Taylor H Front Psychol. 2021; 12:593532.

PMID: 33692717 PMC: 7937635. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.593532.

When Gesture "Takes Over": Speech-Embedded Nonverbal Depictions in Multimodal Interaction.

Hsu H, Brone G, Feyaerts K Front Psychol. 2021; 11:552533.

PMID: 33643106 PMC: 7906077. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.552533.

Embodied Learning: Why at School the Mind Needs the Body.

Macedonia M Front Psychol. 2019; 10:2098.

PMID: 31632311 PMC: 6779792. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02098.

References

Pollick A, de Waal F . Ape gestures and language evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104(19):8184-9. PMC: 1876592. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702624104. View

Pika S, Bugnyar T . The use of referential gestures in ravens (Corvus corax) in the wild. Nat Commun. 2011; 2:560. PMC: 4377648. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1567. View

Froese T, Leavens D . The direct perception hypothesis: perceiving the intention of another's action hinders its precise imitation. Front Psychol. 2014; 5:65. PMC: 3927096. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00065. View

Hostetter A, Alibali M . Visible embodiment: gestures as simulated action. Psychon Bull Rev. 2008; 15(3):495-514. DOI: 10.3758/pbr.15.3.495. View

Liberman A, Mattingly I . The motor theory of speech perception revised. Cognition. 1985; 21(1):1-36. DOI: 10.1016/0010-0277(85)90021-6. View

Whiten A, McGuigan N, Marshall-Pescini S, Hopper L . Emulation, imitation, over-imitation and the scope of culture for child and chimpanzee. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009; 364(1528):2417-28. PMC: 2865074. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0069. View

Horowitz A . Do humans ape? Or do apes human? Imitation and intention in humans (Homo sapiens) and other animals. J Comp Psychol. 2003; 117(3):325-36. DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.117.3.325. View

Maestripieri D . Maternal encouragement in nonhuman primates and the question of animal teaching. Hum Nat. 2013; 6(4):361-78. DOI: 10.1007/BF02734206. View

Wynn T, Hernandez-Aguilar R, Marchant L, McGrew W . "An ape's view of the Oldowan" revisited. Evol Anthropol. 2011; 20(5):181-97. DOI: 10.1002/evan.20323. View

10.

Tomasello M, Savage-Rumbaugh S, Kruger A . Imitative learning of actions on objects by children, chimpanzees, and enculturated chimpanzees. Child Dev. 1993; 64(6):1688-705. View

11.

Myowa-Yamakoshi M, Matsuzawa T . Factors influencing imitation of manipulatory actions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J Comp Psychol. 1999; 113(2):128-36. DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.113.2.128. View

12.

Glenberg A . What memory is for. Behav Brain Sci. 1997; 20(1):1-19; discussion 19-55. DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x97000010. View

13.

MACNEILAGE P . The frame/content theory of evolution of speech production. Behav Brain Sci. 1999; 21(4):499-511; discussion 511-46. DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x98001265. View

14.

Bjorklund D, Bering J, Ragan P . A two-year longitudinal study of deferred imitation of object manipulation in a juvenile chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Dev Psychobiol. 2000; 37(4):229-37. DOI: 10.1002/1098-2302(2000)37:4<229::aid-dev3>3.0.co;2-k. View

15.

Gergely G, Egyed K, Kiraly I . On pedagogy. Dev Sci. 2006; 10(1):139-46. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00576.x. View

16.

Clark H . Depicting as a method of communication. Psychol Rev. 2016; 123(3):324-47. DOI: 10.1037/rev0000026. View

17.

Donald M . Key cognitive preconditions for the evolution of language. Psychon Bull Rev. 2016; 24(1):204-208. DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1102-x. View

18.

Kline M . How to learn about teaching: An evolutionary framework for the study of teaching behavior in humans and other animals. Behav Brain Sci. 2014; 38:e31. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X14000090. View

19.

Bates L, Handford R, Lee P, Njiraini N, Poole J, Sayialel K . Why do African elephants (Loxodonta africana) simulate oestrus? An analysis of longitudinal data. PLoS One. 2010; 5(4):e10052. PMC: 2850927. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010052. View

20.

Bering J, Bjorklund D, Ragan P . Deferred imitation of object-related actions in human-reared juvenile chimpanzees and orangutans. Dev Psychobiol. 2000; 36(3):218-32. DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(200004)36:3<218::aid-dev5>3.0.co;2-k. View