PSYCH 450 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Robert Seyfarth, Cristiane Rozeira, Koko (Gorilla)
Week 3: Communication and Language
Vervet (OW monkeys that range from east to south Africa) Calls
*Alarm calls are typically high frequency because predators find them hard to localize and
group members can still be alerted to the threat and avoid predation.
1. What types of calls were evaluated in this study of the vervet monkey? Calls for leopards,
eagles, and pythons. Eagle alarm calls are low-pitched grunts. Python alarm calls are high
pithed hutters
2. As young vervet monkeys mature, what aspects of their call behavior changes? Young vervet
calls are less discriminating than adult calls due to lack of experience. As they get older they
can better assess which alarm call to sound for the particular predator. Alarm calls from
juveniles and infants are given less attention than those from adults.
3. When did this husband and wife couple (Robert Seyfarth and Dorothy Chaney) conduct these
pioneering studies? Conducted in 1980 and demonstrate that monkeys can discriminate
between terrestrial mammals, flying birds, and snake like objects.
Titi (NW, south eastern Brazil) calls
1. Where did Cristiane Casar conduct this study of the titi monkey? Cäsar's team worked with
five groups of titis that live in a private nature reserve in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil.
2. Their calls could distinguish what types of predators? They could distinguish between
ground (B call; falling pitch) and aerial (A calls; rising pitch) predators.
3. Where were the models places to elicit the calling behavior? Which predators and which
location elicited the most calls? Models were placed either in the treetops or on the ground.
Locations that elicited the most calls were when a predator was not in its normal location. For
example, titi monkeys seeing an aerial predator on the ground would start off with 4 A calls
followed by a number of B calls. When a ground predator was in the treetops they would
start with a single A call followed by many B calls. First few calls are used to state what type
predator is being observed. *These patterns demonstrate a type of syntactical language.
4. Do you remember the typical type of social group that titi monkeys live in? Titi monkeys live
in small family units
Ape Language history
1. What different approach was used to teach language to the chimpanzee named
Washoe? Why was it more successful than prior attempts?
I the 96’s Alice and Beatrix Gardner thought they could teach chimps sign language
because they naturally make many gestures. By the end of her life Washoe knew 250 signs
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Vervet (ow monkeys that range from east to south africa) calls. Young vervet calls are less discriminating than adult calls due to lack of experience. As they get older they can better assess which alarm call to sound for the particular predator. Conducted in 1980 and demonstrate that monkeys can discriminate between terrestrial mammals, flying birds, and snake like objects. Models were placed either in the treetops or on the ground. Locations that elicited the most calls were when a predator was not in its normal location. For example, titi monkeys seeing an aerial predator on the ground would start off with 4 a calls followed by a number of b calls. When a ground predator was in the treetops they would start with a single a call followed by many b calls. First few calls are used to state what type predator is being observed.
