Ostensive Communication: Its Creation, Evolution, and Stability

Communication is a fundamental component of human life and society. Most of our communication is ostensive: when we communicate, not only do we provide evidence for what we intend to communicate - we also provide evidence for the fact that we are trying to communicate. Ostension is the difference between a pointed finger that is a by-product of looking at your watch, and a pointed finger that is designed to direct someone's attention. Our capacity for ostension means that any behaviour has the potential to be used in a communicative way. Indeed, much human communication is ostensive. It provides the foundation for many human institutions, including both language and culture. It appears to be species-unique, and it has clear evolutionary advantages. Despite this, many basic empirical questions about it are unaddressed. I will use the Future Leaders scheme to experimentally investigate a range of fundamental questions about how ostensive communication systems operate.

For example, a growing body of research investigates how communication systems evolve from simple, single-word states to more stable and complex states. There are good theoretical reasons to think that the ways in which these communication systems evolve will change if they are used for ostensive communication. I will test these proposals. This line of research will shed light on the origins and evolution of language - the single most salient and important instance of ostensive communication systems.

A second line of research will investigate the general qualities that distinguish ostensive behaviour from otherwise similar behaviour (e.g. the pointing example - what distinguishes the two different points?). I will use an interactive, two-player computer game that I have previously used to investigate how communication systems emerge. In a series of experiments, I will adapt this game a variety of ways in order to determine the basic properties that make a behaviour ostensive. For example: Are ostensive behaviours those that are otherwise irrational? Can the absence of movement be used in an ostensive way? Answers to these questions will help determine what cognitive mechanisms are necessary for ostensive communication, and are hence pre-requisite for the origins of language.

Finally, I will also investigate what processes keep ostensive communication evolutionarily stable. If communicators are dishonest, then listeners should ignore them, and the system will collapse, just as it does in Aesop's fable of The Boy That Cried Wolf. Evolutionary theory suggests a number of ways in which communication systems can be made stable. In particular, when verification of the veracity of a signal is likely to be available, then low-cost signaling can be kept stable by reputation effects; but if verification is not possible, then costly signals (called handicaps) will be used instead. (Handicaps are signals that are unnecessarily expensive for the signaler, but where the expense acts as a guarantee. Conspicuous consumption, such as very expensive jewelry, is often suggested as an example, since it reveals something about the wealth of its owner.) I will test this hypothesis in collaboration with Prof. Stuart West, an evolutionary biologist at the U. of Oxford.

This research is highly interdisciplinary. Therefore once I have completed the experimental research, I will integrate my findings with current theories about a range of topics. In particular, I anticipate that my research will resolve a number of debates about the origins of human language, and help to explain why only humans have such an open-ended, flexible communication system. Because of the broad, general interest of such topics, I will, in addition to the usual academic channels, present my research and findings at science festivals, present and discuss them on a purpose-built website, and write summary articles for popular yet serious outlets such as New Scientist and Scientific American.

Because the research is highly interdisciplinary, the academic beneficiaries come from several disciplines (details are in the section 'Academic beneficiaries'). I will use the usual academic channels (journal publications, conference presentations) to disseminate my research to this audience. Because of the interdisciplinary audience I will, where possible, target interdisciplinary and/or open access journals. Further details can be found in the section 'Academic beneficiaries'.

As outlined in the Case for Support, ostensive communication is a fundamental component of what makes us human. It provides the foundation for language and culture, and depends upon a range of cognitive abilities that appear to be uniquely human. Consequently, the major non-academic beneficiaries will be members of general public interested in the origins and evolution of human behaviour and cognition, and more generally in what makes us human.

There is a large audience for such activities. Individual findings in this area are often reported in the popular press and in other popular science outlets. TV documentaries on related topics draw sizable audiences (e.g. the 2011 BBC series Fry's Planet Word had more than 1.5m viewers per episode), and the Royal Society and the British Academy have presented a number of joint events similar themes: in 2010 they presented a joint exhibition, Culture Evolves, at the Festival of Arts and Science, in which language evolution featured prominently; and in 2012 they ran a public engagement seminar What Makes Us Human?. Websites and blogs that cover these topics typically receive thousands of unique users each week, and often many more when a significant new finding is announced (data obtained from owner of Replicated Typo, a blog dedicated to study of cultural evolution).

I have developed a plan to maximise the engagement of this audience. It includes creating a website, articles in popular yet serious science magazines (e.g. New Scientist), and presentations at suitable science festivals. Full details are given in the 'Pathways to Impact' attachment. This plan will lead to a better public understanding of the following:
- The differences between human communication (and language), and the communication of other species
- The cognitive and psychological differences between humans and other species (many traits previously assumed to be uniquely human have since been found not to be, but ostensive communication does appear to be exclusive to humans)
- The ways in which human cognition and language evolved
More generally, I anticipate that my public engagement activities will lead to a better public understanding of humanity's place in the natural world.