scholarly journals Vocal Learning in Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus): Effects of Social Interaction, Reference, and Context

The Auk ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus

Lack of referential vocal learning from LCD video by grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus)

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg ◽  
Steven R. Wilkes
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Disabled Children ◽  
Live Video ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus ◽  
Video Feed ◽  
Socially Isolated

Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) do not acquire referential English labels when tutored with videotapes displayed on CRT screens if (a) socially isolated, (b) reward for attempted labels is possible, (c) trainers direct birds’ attention to the monitor, (d) live video feed avoids habituation or (d) one trainer repeats labels produced on video and rewards label attempts. Because birds learned referential labels from live tutor pairs in concurrent sessions, we concluded that video failed because input lacked live social interaction and modeling (Pepperberg, 1999). Recent studies (e.g. Ikebuchi & Okanoya, 1999), however, suggest that standard CRT monitor flickering could instead have prevented learning. Using an LCD monitor, we found that eliminating flickering did not enable birds to learn from video under conditions of limited social interaction. Results emphasize the role of social interaction in referential label learning and may generalize to other systems (e.g. disabled children, or possibly software and robotic agents).

scholarly journals Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 83-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus ◽  
Very Young Children ◽  
Communicative Abilities

Grey parrots ( Psittacus erithacus) solve various cognitive tasks and acquire and use English speech in ways that often resemble those of very young children. Given that the psittacine brain is organized very differently from that of mammals, these results have intriguing implications for the study and evolution of vocal learning, communication, and cognition.

scholarly journals Nonhuman and Nonhuman-Human Communication: Some Issues and Questions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Simple Object ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus ◽  
Simple Matter ◽  
Number Of Species

Deciphering nonhuman communication – particularly nonhuman vocal communication – has been a longstanding human quest. We are, for example, fascinated by the songs of birds and whales, the grunts of apes, the barks of dogs, and the croaks of frogs; we wonder about their potential meaning and their relationship to human language. Do these utterances express little more than emotional states, or do they convey actual bits and bytes of concrete information? Humans’ numerous attempts to decipher nonhuman systems have, however, progressed slowly. We still wonder why only a small number of species are capable of vocal learning, a trait that, because it allows for innovation and adaptation, would seem to be a prerequisite for most language-like abilities. Humans have also attempted to teach nonhumans elements of our system, using both vocal and nonvocal systems. The rationale for such training is that the extent of success in instilling symbolic reference provides some evidence for, at the very least, the cognitive underpinnings of parallels between human and nonhuman communication systems. However, separating acquisition of reference from simple object-label association is not a simple matter, as reference begins with such associations, and the point at which true reference emerges is not always obvious. I begin by discussing these points and questions, predominantly from the viewpoint of someone studying avian abilities. I end by examining the question posed by Premack: do nonhumans that have achieved some level of symbolic reference then process information differently from those that have not? I suggest the answer is likely “yes,” giving examples from my research on Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus).

Vocal learning in the grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Effects of species identity and number of trainers.

2000 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg ◽  
Robert M. Sandefer ◽  
Dawn A. Noel ◽  
Clare P. Ellsworth
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Psittacus Erithacus ◽  
Grey Parrot

Social epistemic actions

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pezzulo ◽  
Laura Barca ◽  
Domenico Maisto ◽  
Francesco Donnarumma
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Joint Action ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Epistemic Actions ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Online Social Interaction

Abstract We consider the ways humans engage in social epistemic actions, to guide each other's attention, prediction, and learning processes towards salient information, at the timescale of online social interaction and joint action. This parallels the active guidance of other's attention, prediction, and learning processes at the longer timescale of niche construction and cultural practices, as discussed in the target article.

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