Language, thought and communication
What's covered
Key facts
Explanations of non-verbal communication — Darwin, Yuki
The principle of antithesis says opposite emotions produce opposite expressions, e.g. a confident posture versus a submissive shoulder-shrug.
Human vs animal communication — von Frisch's bees
Bee communication is not a true language because it lacks displacement and plasticity, so it cannot describe past or future or create unlimited new messages.
Language and thought — Sapir-Whorf
Boroditsky (2001) found English speakers describe time horizontally while Mandarin speakers also use vertical metaphors, and this affected how quickly they judged time questions.
Non-verbal communication
Argyle found that when one person wore dark glasses, conversations had more pauses and interruptions, showing eye contact regulates conversational flow.
Explanations of non-verbal communication — Darwin, Yuki
Darwin argued emotional expressions evolved because they aided survival and reproduction, so were naturally selected.
Human vs animal communication — von Frisch's bees
Human communication uses many channels at once (words, tone, gesture, facial expression), giving it far more functions than fixed animal signals.
Language and thought — Sapir-Whorf
Carmichael, Hogan and Walter (1932) investigated whether a verbal label given with an ambiguous figure affected how participants later reproduced (drew) it.
Non-verbal communication
Closed posture, such as crossing the arms, signals rejection, defensiveness or feeling threatened.
Explanations of non-verbal communication — Darwin, Yuki
Serviceable associated habits: a behaviour that once had a purpose (e.g. baring teeth to bite) becomes an emotional signal of anger.
Human vs animal communication — von Frisch's bees
A round dance (rapid circular movements) signals that a food source is close to the hive.
Sample questions
A taste of the 51 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
According to Darwin, why did emotional expressions evolve in humans?
- ✓They aided survival and reproduction, so were naturally selected.
- •They developed randomly with no link to survival at all.
- •They were invented to replace spoken language over time.
- •They were taught by parents and copied through observation.
What does a honeybee's round dance signal about a food source?
- ✓It is close to the hive
- •It is far from the hive
- •Its exact direction from the sun
- •That the hive must move location
What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis propose about language and thought?
- •Everyone thinks identically regardless of the language they speak
- •Language and thought are entirely separate, unrelated systems
- ✓The language you speak shapes how you think and see the world
- •Thought develops fully before any language is learned
Which best defines non-verbal communication?
- •Communicating only through written text and symbols
- •Communicating using sign language as a full grammar
- ✓Communicating without words, e.g. eye contact and body language
- •Using tone of voice to change a spoken sentence's meaning
Which concept describes baring teeth (once used to bite) becoming a signal of anger?
- •Cultural display rules
- •Operant conditioning
- •Pupil dilation reflex
- ✓Serviceable associated habits
In the waggle dance, what tells other bees the direction of the food source?
- ✓The angle of the dance relative to the sun
- •The colour of paint marking the bee
- •The loudness of the buzzing during the dance
- •The number of waggle runs in a set time
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