The Nature of Communication This PowerPoint

Transcript:The Nature of Communication This PowerPoint:
The Nature of Communication This PowerPoint relates to this Learning Objective: Describe the ways that nonhuman communication systems differ from language. © 2021 Author Nonhuman and Human Communication Compared The Dance of the Honey Bee A bee’s waggle dance can produce a virtually unlimited number of messages about: the distance direction and quality of a food source. But that is where its productive communication ends. You can see a diagram of the waggle dance in your textbook (Figure 1-2). You can also see videos of the waggle dance on YouTube. © 2021 Author Nonhuman and Human Communication Compared The vocalization of birds A main response to a potential predator is the alarm call. Depending on the species, birds have a code containing as few as 3 and as many as 30 calls. Calls are usually relatively short vocal signals that might communicate a variety of messages. A variety of other species might respond to the calls of a given species. Songs are longer and more complex sequences of sound that, in birds, are usually associated with attracting a mate. Songs are species specific. Whereas calls of various species of birds are often similar, songs are not. With few exceptions, calls seem to be completely innate. On the other hand, the acquisition of bird songs shows a complex relationship between genetics, learning, and the environment. © 2021 Author Nonhuman and Human Communication Compared Inheritance and Learning in Bird Songs A bird reared in isolation will not sing the same as a bird reared in its natural environment. As with bee dancing, this indicates that the bird learns details of its song from its environment. The fact that the isolated bird will sing a song that is similar to a normal song indicates that the general pattern of the song is innate. However, fine-tuning of the song is learned. The sound spectrograph is an instrument used to analyze sound by producing a visual record of sound in terms of the time duration of the sound, its frequency (number of occurrences within a specific unit of time), and its amplitude (degree of loudness). © 2021 Author Nonhuman and Human Communication Compared Compared to birds, bees, and any other nonhuman communication system, language is impressive for its broad scope. Humans can coin new words at will. Openness and productivity are nonexistent or strictly limited in other animals. Openness is the ability to add new