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The heterochronic origins of explicit reference
chapter
posted on 2023-06-07, 17:50 authored by David LeavensDavid Leavens, William D Hopkins, Kim A BardExplicit reference is the communicative capacity to intentionally pick out a specific object in the environment and make that object a manifest topic for shared attention. Pointing is the quintessential example of non-verbal, explicit reference. Chimpanzees, and other apes in captivity, spontaneously point without overt training. Because wild apes almost never point, and because both captive and wild apes are sampled from the same gene pool, this implies that, for apes, hominoid genes interact with certain environments to elicit pointing. We propose that changes in the patterns of hominid development interact with ape-like cognitive capacities to produce features of explicit reference in human infants, a capacity that emerges in our nearest living relatives when they experience similar circumstances.
History
Publication status
- Published
Publisher
John Benjamins Pub. CoPage range
187-214Pages
27.0Book title
The shared mind : perspectives on intersubjectivityISBN
9789027239006Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes