Records |
Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
Meaning and emotion in animal vocalizations |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
Volume |
1000 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
32-55 |
Keywords |
Acoustics; *Affect; Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Intention; Posture; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
Historically, a dichotomy has been drawn between the semantic communication of human language and the apparently emotional calls of animals. Current research paints a more complicated picture. Just as scientists have identified elements of human speech that reflect a speaker's emotions, field experiments have shown that the calls of many animals provide listeners with information about objects and events in the environment. Like human speech, therefore, animal vocalizations simultaneously provide others with information that is both semantic and emotional. In support of this conclusion, we review the results of field experiments on the natural vocalizations of African vervet monkeys, diana monkeys, baboons, and suricates (a South African mongoose). Vervet and diana monkeys give acoustically distinct alarm calls in response to the presence of leopards, eagles, and snakes. Each alarm call type elicits a different, adaptive response from others nearby. Field experiments demonstrate that listeners compare these vocalizations not just according to their acoustic properties but also according to the information they convey. Like monkeys, suricates give acoustically distinct alarm calls in response to different predators. Within each predator class, the calls also differ acoustically according to the signaler's perception of urgency. Like speech, therefore, suricate alarm calls convey both semantic and emotional information. The vocalizations of baboons, like those of many birds and mammals, are individually distinctive. As a result, when one baboon hears a sequence of calls exchanged between two or more individuals, the listener acquires information about social events in its group. Baboons, moreover, are skilled “eavesdroppers:” their response to different call sequences provides evidence of the sophisticated information they acquire from other individuals' vocalizations. Baboon males give loud “wahoo” calls during competitive displays. Like other vocalizations, these highly emotional calls provide listeners with information about the caller's dominance rank, age, and competitive ability. Although animal vocalizations, like human speech, simultaneously encode both semantic and emotional information, they differ from language in at least one fundamental respect. Although listeners acquire rich information from a caller's vocalization, callers do not, in the human sense, intend to provide it. Listeners acquire information as an inadvertent consequence of signaler behavior. |
Address |
Departments of Psychology and Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu |
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0077-8923 |
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PMID:14766619 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
688 |
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Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
Signalers and receivers in animal communication |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Annual review of psychology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Annu Rev Psychol |
Volume |
54 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
145-173 |
Keywords |
Affect; *Animal Communication; Animals; Arousal; Auditory Perception; Motivation; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
In animal communication natural selection favors callers who vocalize to affect the behavior of listeners and listeners who acquire information from vocalizations, using this information to represent their environment. The acquisition of information in the wild is similar to the learning that occurs in laboratory conditioning experiments. It also has some parallels with language. The dichotomous view that animal signals must be either referential or emotional is false, because they can easily be both: The mechanisms that cause a signaler to vocalize do not limit a listener's ability to extract information from the call. The inability of most animals to recognize the mental states of others distinguishes animal communication most clearly from human language. Whereas signalers may vocalize to change a listener's behavior, they do not call to inform others. Listeners acquire information from signalers who do not, in the human sense, intend to provide it. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu |
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0066-4308 |
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PMID:12359915 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
690 |
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Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
What are big brains for? |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
Volume |
99 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
4141-4142 |
Keywords |
Animals; Brain/*anatomy & histology; *Intelligence; Learning; Primates/*anatomy & histology/*psychology; Social Behavior |
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Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu |
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ISSN |
0027-8424 |
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Notes |
PMID:11929989 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
692 |
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Author |
Fischer, J.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. |
Title |
Development of infant baboons' responses to graded bark variants |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
267 |
Issue |
1459 |
Pages |
2317-2321 |
Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Male; Models, Psychological; Papio/growth & development/*physiology; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
We studied the development of infant baboons' (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) responses to conspecific 'barks' in a free-ranging population in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. These barks grade from tonal, harmonically rich calls into calls with a more noisy, harsh structure. Typically, tonal variants are given when the signaller is at risk of losing contact with the group or a particular individual ('contact barks'), whereas harsh variants are given in response to predators ('alarm barks'). We conducted focal observations and playback experiments in which we presented variants of barks recorded from resident adult females. By six months of age, infants reliably discriminated between typical alarm and contact barks and they responded more strongly to intermediate alarm calls than to typical contact barks. Infants of six months and older also recognized their mothers by voice. The ability to discriminate between different call variants developed with increasing age. At two and a half months of age, infants failed to respond at all, whereas at four months they responded irrespective of the call type that was presented. At six months, infants showed adult-like responses by responding strongly to alarm barks but ignoring contact barks. We concluded that infants gradually learn to attach the appropriate meaning to alarm and contact barks. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. fischerj@eva.mpg.de |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:11413649 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
694 |
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Author |
Rendall, D.; Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. |
Title |
Proximate factors mediating “contact” calls in adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) and their infants |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
Volume |
114 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
36-46 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Wild; Botswana; Female; *Maternal Behavior; Motivation; Orientation; Papio/*psychology; Social Environment; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
“Contact” calls are widespread in social mammals and birds, but the proximate factors that motivate call production and mediate their contact function remain poorly specified. Field study of chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) revealed that contact barks in adult females were motivated by separation both from the group at large and from their dependent infants. A variety of social and ecological factors affect the probability of separation from either one or both. Results of simultaneous observations and a playback experiment indicate that the contact function of calling between mothers and infants was mediated by occasional maternal retrieval rather than coordinated call exchange. Mothers recognized the contact barks of their own infants and often were strongly motivated to locate them. However, mothers did not produce contact barks in reply unless they themselves were at risk of becoming separated from the group. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, USA. d.rendall@uleth.ca |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:10739310 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
695 |
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Author |
Owren, M.J.; Dieter, J.A.; Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
Vocalizations of rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Japanese (M. fuscata) macaques cross-fostered between species show evidence of only limited modification |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
1993 |
Publication |
Developmental psychobiology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Dev Psychobiol |
Volume |
26 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
389-406 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Newborn; Behavior, Animal; Discrimination Learning; Environment; Female; *Macaca; *Macaca mulatta; Male; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
Two rhesus and two Japanese macaque infants were cross-fostered between species in order to study the effects of auditory experience on vocal development. Both the cross-fostered and normally raised control subjects were observed over the first 2 years of life and their vocalizations were tape-recorded. We classified 8053 calls by ear, placed each call in one of six acoustic categories, and calculated the rates at which different call-types were used in different social contexts. Species differences were found in the use of “coo” and “gruff” vocalizations among control subjects. Japanese macaques invariably produced coos almost exclusively. In contrast, rhesus macaques produced a mixture of coos and gruffs and showed considerable interindividual variation in the relative use of one call type or the other. Cross-fostered Japanese macaques adhered to their species-typical behavior, rarely using gruffs. Cross-fostered rhesus subjects also exhibited species-typical behavior in many contexts, but in some situations produced coos and gruffs at rates that were intermediate between those shown by normally raised animals of the two species. This outcome suggests that environmentally mediated modification of vocal behavior may have occurred, but that the resulting changes were quite limited. |
Address |
California Regional Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis |
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0012-1630 |
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PMID:8270122 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
700 |
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Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
Meaning and mind in monkeys |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
1992 |
Publication |
Scientific American |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sci Am |
Volume |
267 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
122-128 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; *Haplorhini; Male; Speech; *Vocalization, Animal |
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University of Pennsylvania |
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0036-8733 |
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PMID:1439710 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
701 |
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Author |
Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M. |
Title |
The representation of social relations by monkeys |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
1990 |
Publication |
Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Cognition |
Volume |
37 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
167-196 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cercopithecus aethiops/*psychology; Concept Formation; *Dominance-Subordination; Female; Macaca fascicularis/*psychology; Male; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment |
Abstract |
Monkeys recognize the social relations that exist among others in their group. They know who associates with whom, for example, and other animals' relative dominance ranks. In addition, monkeys appear to compare types of social relations and make same/different judgments about them. In captivity, longtailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) trained to recognize the relation between one adult female and her offspring can identify the same relation among other mother-offspring pairs, and distinguish this relation from bonds between individuals who are related in a different way. In the wild, if a vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) has seen a fight between a member of its own family and a member of Family X, this increases the likelihood that it will act aggressively toward another member of Family X. Vervets act as if they recognize some similarity between their own close associates and the close associates of others. To make such comparisons the monkeys must have some way of representing the properties of social relationships. We discuss the adaptive value of such representations, the information they contain, their structure, and their limitations. |
Address |
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104 |
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0010-0277 |
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PMID:2269006 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
702 |
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Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
The acoustic features of vervet monkey grunts |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
1984 |
Publication |
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Acoust Soc Am |
Volume |
75 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
1623-1628 |
Keywords |
*Acoustics; Animals; Auditory Perception; Cercopithecus/*physiology; Cercopithecus aethiops/*physiology; Cues; Dominance-Subordination; Female; Male; Social Behavior; Sound Spectrography; *Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
East African vervet monkeys give short (125 ms), harsh-sounding grunts to each other in a variety of social situations: when approaching a dominant or subordinate member of their group, when moving into a new area of their range, or upon seeing another group. Although all these vocalizations sound similar to humans, field playback experiments have shown that the monkeys distinguish at least four different calls. Acoustic analysis reveals that grunts have an aperiodic F0, at roughly 240 Hz. Most grunts exhibit a spectral peak close to this irregular F0. Grunts may also contain a second, rising or falling frequency peak, between 550 and 900 Hz. The location and changes in these two frequency peaks are the cues most likely to be used by vervets when distinguishing different grunt types. |
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0001-4966 |
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Notes |
PMID:6736426 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
703 |
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Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
Title |
Grooming, alliances and reciprocal altruism in vervet monkeys |
Type ![sorted by Type field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Journal Article |
Year |
1984 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
Volume |
308 |
Issue |
5959 |
Pages |
541-543 |
Keywords |
*Altruism; Animals; Cercopithecus/*physiology; Cercopithecus aethiops/*physiology; *Grooming; *Social Behavior; Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
Reciprocal altruism refers to the exchange of beneficial acts between individuals, in which the benefits to the recipient exceed the cost to the altruist. Theory predicts that cooperation among unrelated animals can occur whenever individuals encounter each other regularly and are capable of adjusting their cooperative behaviour according to experience. Although the potential for reciprocal altruism exists in many animal societies, most interactions occur between closely related individuals, and examples of reciprocity among non-kin are rare. The field experiments on vervet monkeys which we present here demonstrate that grooming between unrelated individuals increases the probability that they will subsequently attend to each others' solicitations for aid. Vervets appear to be more willing to aid unrelated individuals if those individuals have behaved affinitively toward them in the recent past. In contrast, recent grooming between close genetic relatives appears to have no effect on their willingness to respond to each other's solicitations for aid. |
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0028-0836 |
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PMID:6709060 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
704 |
Permanent link to this record |