creators_name: Shanker, Stuart
creators_name: King, Barbara
type: other
datestamp: 2000-07-28
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:54:22
metadata_visibility: show
title: The Emergence of a New Paradigm in Ape Language Research
ispublished: unpub
subjects: comp-psy
full_text_status: public
keywords: dynamic systems; co-regulation; apes; language; ape language research; communicatoin; cymbols; brain development
abstract: In place of the information-processing model that has hitherto dominated ape language research, we argue that it is imperative that we now shift to a dynamic systems paradigm, which places the emphasis on the dyad rather than the isolated individual; which sees ape communication as a co-regulated process, rather than a linear and discrete sequence; which focuses on the variability of ape communicative behaviours, rather than treating them as phenotypic traits; and which is thus better able to account for both the social complexity and the developmental character of nonhuman primate communicative abilities.
date: 2000-07
date_type: published
refereed: FALSE
referencetext: Adams, M.J. (1998) Beginning to Read, The MIT Press.
Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M., Waters, E. & Wall, S. (1978) Patterns of attachment, Erlbaum.
Argyle, M. (1988) Bodily Communication, Routledge.
Chess, S. & Thomas, A. (1984) Origins and evolution of behavior disorders, Brunner/Mazel. 
Cianelli, S.N. & Fouts, R.S.  (1998) Chimpanzee to chimpanzee American sign language. Human Evolution 13 (3-4): 157-159.
Deacon T. (1997) The Symbolic Species, W.W. Norton & Company.
Fivaz-Depeursinge, Corboz-Warnery, E. & A. (1999) The Primary Triangle: A Developmental Systems View of Mothers, Fathers, and Infants, Basic Books.
Fogel, A. (1993) Developing Through Relationships, The University of Chicago Press.
Fogel, A. (in press) Beyond Individuals: A relational-historical approach to theory and research on communication. To appear in Il rapporto madre-bambino (The mother-child bond), M. L. Genta, ed. Rome, Carocci Editore.
Gardner, R.A. & Gardner, B.T. (1969) Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science 165: 664-672.   
Goodall, J. (1990) Through a Window, Houghton Mifflin Company.
Gottlieb, G. (1997) Synthesizing nature-nurture: Prenatal roots of instinctive behavior, Erlbaum. 
Greenspan, S. (1997) The Growth of the mind: and the endangered origins of intelligence, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
Halliday, T.R. & Slater, P.J.B. (1983) Animal behaviour, vol.2, Communication, Freeman.
Harlow, H.F.  & Zimmerman, R. (1959) Affectional responses in the infant monkey. Science, 130: 421-32.
Hixson, M.D. (1998) Ape language research: a review and behavioral perspective. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior 15: 17-39.
Horner, T. (1985) Subjectivity, intentionality, and the emergence of reality testing in early infancy. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 2: 341-63.
Johnson, M.H. (1997) Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Blackwell.
King, B.J. (2000) On gesture and culture in great apes. Paper circulated in advance of Wenner Gren International Symposium. 
King, B.J. & Shanker, S.G. (Submitted) How can we know the dancer from the dance: the co-regulated nature of ape communication. In A. Russon & D. Begun, eds. Modern Great Ape Intelligence, Cambridge University Press.
Miles, L.W. (1990) The cognitive foundations for reference in a signing orangutan. In S.T. Parker & K.R. Gibson, eds. "Language" and Intelligence in Monkeys and Apes, 511-539, Cambridge University Press.
Newport, E. (1991) Contrasting conceptions of the critical period for language. In Carey, S. & Gelman, R., eds. The epigenesis of mind: Essays on biology and cognition, Erlbaum.
Parker, S.T. & McKinney, M.L. (1999) Origins of Intelligence, The John Hopkins University Press.
Pinker, S. (1994) The Language Instinct, William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Rumbaugh, D., ed. (1977) Language learning by a chimpanzee, Academic.
Russell, J., ed. (1997) Autism as an executive disorder, Oxford University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S (1986) Ape Language, Columbia University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S. & Lewin, R. (1994) Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S. & Rumbaugh, D. (1979) Symbolization, language and chimpanzees: A theoretical reevaluation based on initial language acquisition processes in four young Pan troglogdytes. Brain and Language, 6: 265-300
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Murphy, J., Sevcik, R., Brakke, K., Williams, S. & Rumbaugh, R. (1993) Language Comprehension in Ape and Child, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial No. 233, Vol.58, Nos. 3-4.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Shanker, S. & Taylor, T. (1998) Apes, Language and the human mind, Oxford University Press.
Schaffer, H. (1984) The Child's entry into a social world, Academic Press.
Schore, A. (1994) Affect Regulation and the origin of the self, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Seyfarth, R.L. & Cheney, D.L. (1997) Some general features of vocal development in nonhuman primates. In C.T. Snowdon & M. Hausberger, eds. Social Influences on Vocal Development, 249-273, Cambridge University Press.
Snowdon, C.T. (1999) An empiricist view of language evolution and development. In B.J. King, ed. The Origins of Language: What Nonhuman Primates Can Tell Us, 79-114, School of American Research Press. 
Stern, D.N. (1990) Diary of a Baby, Basic Books.
Tanner, J. & Byrne, R.W. (1999) The development of spontaneous gestural communication in a group of zoo-living lowland gorillas. In S.T. Parker,  R.W. 
Mitchell & H.L. Miles, eds. The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans, 211-239, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, T.J. (1992) Mutual misunderstanding, Routledge.
Tomasello, M. (1999) The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition, Harvard University Press.
Tronick, E.Z. (1989) Emotions and emotional communication in infants. American Psychologist, 44: 115-23
van der Weele, C. (1999) Images of Development, SUNY Press.


Adams, M.J. (1998) Beginning to Read, The MIT Press.
Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M., Waters, E. & Wall, S. (1978) Patterns of attachment, Erlbaum.
Argyle, M. (1988) Bodily Communication, Routledge.
Chess, S. & Thomas, A. (1984) Origins and evolution of behavior disorders, Brunner/Mazel. 
Cianelli, S.N. & Fouts, R.S.  (1998) Chimpanzee to chimpanzee American sign language. Human Evolution 13 (3-4): 157-159.
Deacon T. (1997) The Symbolic Species, W.W. Norton & Company.
Fivaz-Depeursinge, Corboz-Warnery, E. & A. (1999) The Primary Triangle: A Developmental Systems View of Mothers, Fathers, and Infants, Basic Books.
Fogel, A. (1993) Developing Through Relationships, The University of Chicago Press.
Fogel, A. (in press) Beyond Individuals: A relational-historical approach to theory and research on communication. To appear in Il rapporto madre-bambino (The mother-child bond), M. L. Genta, ed. Rome, Carocci Editore.
Gardner, R.A. & Gardner, B.T. (1969) Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science 165: 664-672.   
Goodall, J. (1990) Through a Window, Houghton Mifflin Company.
Gottlieb, G. (1997) Synthesizing nature-nurture: Prenatal roots of instinctive behavior, Erlbaum. 
Greenspan, S. (1997) The Growth of the mind: and the endangered origins of intelligence, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
Halliday, T.R. & Slater, P.J.B. (1983) Animal behaviour, vol.2, Communication, Freeman.
Harlow, H.F.  & Zimmerman, R. (1959) Affectional responses in the infant monkey. Science, 130: 421-32.
Hixson, M.D. (1998) Ape language research: a review and behavioral perspective. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior 15: 17-39.
Horner, T. (1985) Subjectivity, intentionality, and the emergence of reality testing in early infancy. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 2: 341-63.
Johnson, M.H. (1997) Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Blackwell.
King, B.J. (2000) On gesture and culture in great apes. Paper circulated in advance of Wenner Gren International Symposium. 
King, B.J. & Shanker, S.G. (Submitted) How can we know the dancer from the dance: the co-regulated nature of ape communication. In A. Russon & D. Begun, eds. Modern Great Ape Intelligence, Cambridge University Press.
Miles, L.W. (1990) The cognitive foundations for reference in a signing orangutan. In S.T. Parker & K.R. Gibson, eds. "Language" and Intelligence in Monkeys and Apes, 511-539, Cambridge University Press.
Newport, E. (1991) Contrasting conceptions of the critical period for language. In Carey, S. & Gelman, R., eds. The epigenesis of mind: Essays on biology and cognition, Erlbaum.
Parker, S.T. & McKinney, M.L. (1999) Origins of Intelligence, The John Hopkins University Press.
Pinker, S. (1994) The Language Instinct, William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Rumbaugh, D., ed. (1977) Language learning by a chimpanzee, Academic.
Russell, J., ed. (1997) Autism as an executive disorder, Oxford University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S (1986) Ape Language, Columbia University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S. & Lewin, R. (1994) Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S. & Rumbaugh, D. (1979) Symbolization, language and chimpanzees: A theoretical reevaluation based on initial language acquisition processes in four young Pan troglogdytes. Brain and Language, 6: 265-300
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Murphy, J., Sevcik, R., Brakke, K., Williams, S. & Rumbaugh, R. (1993) Language Comprehension in Ape and Child, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial No. 233, Vol.58, Nos. 3-4.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Shanker, S. & Taylor, T. (1998) Apes, Language and the human mind, Oxford University Press.
Schaffer, H. (1984) The Child's entry into a social world, Academic Press.
Schore, A. (1994) Affect Regulation and the origin of the self, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Seyfarth, R.L. & Cheney, D.L. (1997) Some general features of vocal development in nonhuman primates. In C.T. Snowdon & M. Hausberger, eds. Social Influences on Vocal Development, 249-273, Cambridge University Press.
Snowdon, C.T. (1999) An empiricist view of language evolution and development. In B.J. King, ed. The Origins of Language: What Nonhuman Primates Can Tell Us, 79-114, School of American Research Press. 
Stern, D.N. (1990) Diary of a Baby, Basic Books.
Tanner, J. & Byrne, R.W. (1999) The development of spontaneous gestural communication in a group of zoo-living lowland gorillas. In S.T. Parker,  R.W. 
Mitchell & H.L. Miles, eds. The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans, 211-239, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, T.J. (1992) Mutual misunderstanding, Routledge.
Tomasello, M. (1999) The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition, Harvard University Press.
Tronick, E.Z. (1989) Emotions and emotional communication in infants. American Psychologist, 44: 115-23
van der Weele, C. (1999) Images of Development, SUNY Press.


Adams, M.J. (1998) Beginning to Read, The MIT Press.
Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M., Waters, E. & Wall, S. (1978) Patterns of attachment, Erlbaum.
Argyle, M. (1988) Bodily Communication, Routledge.
Chess, S. & Thomas, A. (1984) Origins and evolution of behavior disorders, Brunner/Mazel. 
Cianelli, S.N. & Fouts, R.S.  (1998) Chimpanzee to chimpanzee American sign language. Human Evolution 13 (3-4): 157-159.
Deacon T. (1997) The Symbolic Species, W.W. Norton & Company.
Fivaz-Depeursinge, Corboz-Warnery, E. & A. (1999) The Primary Triangle: A Developmental Systems View of Mothers, Fathers, and Infants, Basic Books.
Fogel, A. (1993) Developing Through Relationships, The University of Chicago Press.
Fogel, A. (in press) Beyond Individuals: A relational-historical approach to theory and research on communication. To appear in Il rapporto madre-bambino (The mother-child bond), M. L. Genta, ed. Rome, Carocci Editore.
Gardner, R.A. & Gardner, B.T. (1969) Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science 165: 664-672.   
Goodall, J. (1990) Through a Window, Houghton Mifflin Company.
Gottlieb, G. (1997) Synthesizing nature-nurture: Prenatal roots of instinctive behavior, Erlbaum. 
Greenspan, S. (1997) The Growth of the mind: and the endangered origins of intelligence, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
Halliday, T.R. & Slater, P.J.B. (1983) Animal behaviour, vol.2, Communication, Freeman.
Harlow, H.F.  & Zimmerman, R. (1959) Affectional responses in the infant monkey. Science, 130: 421-32.
Hixson, M.D. (1998) Ape language research: a review and behavioral perspective. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior 15: 17-39.
Horner, T. (1985) Subjectivity, intentionality, and the emergence of reality testing in early infancy. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 2: 341-63.
Johnson, M.H. (1997) Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Blackwell.
King, B.J. (2000) On gesture and culture in great apes. Paper circulated in advance of Wenner Gren International Symposium. 
King, B.J. & Shanker, S.G. (Submitted) How can we know the dancer from the dance: the co-regulated nature of ape communication. In A. Russon & D. Begun, eds. Modern Great Ape Intelligence, Cambridge University Press.
Miles, L.W. (1990) The cognitive foundations for reference in a signing orangutan. In S.T. Parker & K.R. Gibson, eds. "Language" and Intelligence in Monkeys and Apes, 511-539, Cambridge University Press.
Newport, E. (1991) Contrasting conceptions of the critical period for language. In Carey, S. & Gelman, R., eds. The epigenesis of mind: Essays on biology and cognition, Erlbaum.
Parker, S.T. & McKinney, M.L. (1999) Origins of Intelligence, The John Hopkins University Press.
Pinker, S. (1994) The Language Instinct, William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Rumbaugh, D., ed. (1977) Language learning by a chimpanzee, Academic.
Russell, J., ed. (1997) Autism as an executive disorder, Oxford University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S (1986) Ape Language, Columbia University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S. & Lewin, R. (1994) Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S. & Rumbaugh, D. (1979) Symbolization, language and chimpanzees: A theoretical reevaluation based on initial language acquisition processes in four young Pan troglogdytes. Brain and Language, 6: 265-300
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Murphy, J., Sevcik, R., Brakke, K., Williams, S. & Rumbaugh, R. (1993) Language Comprehension in Ape and Child, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial No. 233, Vol.58, Nos. 3-4.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Shanker, S. & Taylor, T. (1998) Apes, Language and the human mind, Oxford University Press.
Schaffer, H. (1984) The Child's entry into a social world, Academic Press.
Schore, A. (1994) Affect Regulation and the origin of the self, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Seyfarth, R.L. & Cheney, D.L. (1997) Some general features of vocal development in nonhuman primates. In C.T. Snowdon & M. Hausberger, eds. Social Influences on Vocal Development, 249-273, Cambridge University Press.
Snowdon, C.T. (1999) An empiricist view of language evolution and development. In B.J. King, ed. The Origins of Language: What Nonhuman Primates Can Tell Us, 79-114, School of American Research Press. 
Stern, D.N. (1990) Diary of a Baby, Basic Books.
Tanner, J. & Byrne, R.W. (1999) The development of spontaneous gestural communication in a group of zoo-living lowland gorillas. In S.T. Parker,  R.W. 
Mitchell & H.L. Miles, eds. The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans, 211-239, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, T.J. (1992) Mutual misunderstanding, Routledge.
Tomasello, M. (1999) The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition, Harvard University Press.
Tronick, E.Z. (1989) Emotions and emotional communication in infants. American Psychologist, 44: 115-23
van der Weele, C. (1999) Images of Development, SUNY Press.
Adams, M.J. (1998) Beginning to Read, The MIT Press.
Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M., Waters, E. & Wall, S. (1978) Patterns of attachment, Erlbaum.
Argyle, M. (1988) Bodily Communication, Routledge.
Chess, S. & Thomas, A. (1984) Origins and evolution of behavior disorders, Brunner/Mazel. 
Cianelli, S.N. & Fouts, R.S.  (1998) Chimpanzee to chimpanzee American sign language. Human Evolution 13 (3-4): 157-159.
Deacon T. (1997) The Symbolic Species, W.W. Norton & Company.
Fivaz-Depeursinge, Corboz-Warnery, E. & A. (1999) The Primary Triangle: A Developmental Systems View of Mothers, Fathers, and Infants, Basic Books.
Fogel, A. (1993) Developing Through Relationships, The University of Chicago Press.
Fogel, A. (in press) Beyond Individuals: A relational-historical approach to theory and research on communication. To appear in Il rapporto madre-bambino (The mother-child bond), M. L. Genta, ed. Rome, Carocci Editore.
Gardner, R.A. & Gardner, B.T. (1969) Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science 165: 664-672.   
Goodall, J. (1990) Through a Window, Houghton Mifflin Company.
Gottlieb, G. (1997) Synthesizing nature-nurture: Prenatal roots of instinctive behavior, Erlbaum. 
Greenspan, S. (1997) The Growth of the mind: and the endangered origins of intelligence, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
Halliday, T.R. & Slater, P.J.B. (1983) Animal behaviour, vol.2, Communication, Freeman.
Harlow, H.F.  & Zimmerman, R. (1959) Affectional responses in the infant monkey. Science, 130: 421-32.
Hixson, M.D. (1998) Ape language research: a review and behavioral perspective. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior 15: 17-39.
Horner, T. (1985) Subjectivity, intentionality, and the emergence of reality testing in early infancy. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 2: 341-63.
Johnson, M.H. (1997) Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Blackwell.
King, B.J. (2000) On gesture and culture in great apes. Paper circulated in advance of Wenner Gren International Symposium. 
King, B.J. & Shanker, S.G. (Submitted) How can we know the dancer from the dance: the co-regulated nature of ape communication. In A. Russon & D. Begun, eds. Modern Great Ape Intelligence, Cambridge University Press.
Miles, L.W. (1990) The cognitive foundations for reference in a signing orangutan. In S.T. Parker & K.R. Gibson, eds. "Language" and Intelligence in Monkeys and Apes, 511-539, Cambridge University Press.
Newport, E. (1991) Contrasting conceptions of the critical period for language. In Carey, S. & Gelman, R., eds. The epigenesis of mind: Essays on biology and cognition, Erlbaum.
Parker, S.T. & McKinney, M.L. (1999) Origins of Intelligence, The John Hopkins University Press.
Pinker, S. (1994) The Language Instinct, William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Rumbaugh, D., ed. (1977) Language learning by a chimpanzee, Academic.
Russell, J., ed. (1997) Autism as an executive disorder, Oxford University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E. S (1986) Ape Language, Columbia University Press.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S. & Lewin, R. (1994) Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S. & Rumbaugh, D. (1979) Symbolization, language and chimpanzees: A theoretical reevaluation based on initial language acquisition processes in four young Pan troglogdytes. Brain and Language, 6: 265-300
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Murphy, J., Sevcik, R., Brakke, K., Williams, S. & Rumbaugh, R. (1993) Language Comprehension in Ape and Child, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial No. 233, Vol.58, Nos. 3-4.
Savage-Rumbaugh, S., Shanker, S. & Taylor, T. (1998) Apes, Language and the human mind, Oxford University Press.
Schaffer, H. (1984) The Child's entry into a social world, Academic Press.
Schore, A. (1994) Affect Regulation and the origin of the self, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Seyfarth, R.L. & Cheney, D.L. (1997) Some general features of vocal development in nonhuman primates. In C.T. Snowdon & M. Hausberger, eds. Social Influences on Vocal Development, 249-273, Cambridge University Press.
Snowdon, C.T. (1999) An empiricist view of language evolution and development. In B.J. King, ed. The Origins of Language: What Nonhuman Primates Can Tell Us, 79-114, School of American Research Press. 
Stern, D.N. (1990) Diary of a Baby, Basic Books.
Tanner, J. & Byrne, R.W. (1999) The development of spontaneous gestural communication in a group of zoo-living lowland gorillas. In S.T. Parker,  R.W. 
Mitchell & H.L. Miles, eds. The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans, 211-239, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, T.J. (1992) Mutual misunderstanding, Routledge.
Tomasello, M. (1999) The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition, Harvard University Press.
Tronick, E.Z. (1989) Emotions and emotional communication in infants. American Psychologist, 44: 115-23
van der Weele, C. (1999) Images of Development, SUNY Press.



citation:   Shanker, Stuart and King, Barbara  (2000) The Emergence of a New Paradigm in Ape Language Research.     (Unpublished)  
document_url: http://cogprints.org/906/1/New_Paradigm.htm