...
  • 主题
高级搜索  >
历史搜索 清空历史
首页> 外文期刊>Adaptive behavior >Modelling of factors underlying the evolution of human language
【24h】

Modelling of factors underlying the evolution of human language

机译：Modelling of factors underlying the evolution of human language

获取原文
获取原文并翻译 | 示例
           
页面导航
  • 摘要
  • 著录项
  • 相关主题

摘要

A central question in the evolution of human language is how it emerged. Based on recent research across disciplines, we identified three processes proposed as potential driving factors behind the evolution of ‘modern’ language phenotype: i) a reduction in reactive aggression entailing a boost in prosociality and cooperation, ii) a change in early brain growth trajectory that impacted structures like the cerebellum and striatum, and thus likely impacted the (procedural) memory circuits these regions support, and iii) a demographic expansion of H. sapiens during the Middle Pleistocene. While extensively researched on their own, the interaction between these three processes has yet to be investigated systematically. We develop an abstract agent-based model to interrogate the relationship between these three factors and how they influence transmission of information within a population, which we take to be the essence of language. The model abstracts linguistic capacity to an ‘array of skills’ and investigates under what conditions the number of skills increases. The results demonstrate that there is an optimal degree of cooperation and memory capacity at which the amount of transmitted information is the highest. Our model also shows that separate linguistic communities arise under circumstances where individuals have high levels of memory capacity and there is at least a certain degree of non-cooperation. In contrast, we find no significant direct effects for population size in the process of linguistic community formation. Taken together, these results highlight the explanatory benefits of combining insights from cognitive science, archaeology, and computational modelling.

著录项

获取原文

客服邮箱：kefu@zhangqiaokeyan.com

京公网安备：11010802029741号 ICP备案号：京ICP备15016152号-6 六维联合信息科技 (北京) 有限公司©版权所有

  • 客服微信

  • 服务号