| Orangutans modify their gestural signaling according to their audience's comprehension. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 17683939 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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When people are not fully understood, they persist with attempts to communicate, elaborating their speech in order to better convey their meaning [1]. We investigated whether captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii) would use analogous communicative strategies in signaling to a human experimenter, and whether they could distinguish different degrees of misunderstanding. Orangutans' behavior varied according to how well they had apparently been understood. When their aims were not met, they persisted in communicative attempts. However, when the interlocutor appeared partially to understand their meaning, orangutans narrowed down their range of signals, focusing on gestures already used and repeating them frequently. In contrast, when completely misunderstood, orangutans elaborated their range of gestures, avoiding repetition of failed signals. It is therefore possible, from communicative signals alone, to determine how well an orangutan's intended goal has been met. This differentiation might function under natural conditions to allow an orangutan's intended goals to be understood more efficiently. In the absence of conventional labels, communicating the fact that an intention has been somewhat misunderstood is an important way to establish shared meaning. |
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Authors:
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Erica A Cartmill; Richard W Byrne |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Current biology : CB Volume: 17 ISSN: 0960-9822 ISO Abbreviation: Curr. Biol. Publication Date: 2007 Aug |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2007-08-09 Completed Date: 2007-11-09 Revised Date: 2008-01-08 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9107782 Medline TA: Curr Biol Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1345-8 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, Scotland. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animal Communication* Animals Behavior, Animal* Comprehension Gestures* Humans Pongo pygmaeus / psychology* |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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Curr Biol. 2007 Sep 4;17(17):R762-4
[PMID:
17803926
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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