Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Language01:16

Language

978
Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
978
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

931
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
931
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

4.0K
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
4.0K
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

888
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
888
Horney's Sociocultural Approach01:27

Horney's Sociocultural Approach

1.2K
Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories emphasize the potential for self-realization and the importance of addressing social and cultural, rather than biological, factors in personality development. She challenged traditional Freudian views, particularly Freud's concept of "penis envy," which she argued stemmed from cultural influences rather than inherent biological differences. Horney believed that any sense of inferiority in women was a result of societal conditioning, such as...
1.2K
Self Within Cultural Contexts01:30

Self Within Cultural Contexts

294
Cultural frameworks for understanding the self are often categorized into two broad orientations: individualism and collectivism. These paradigms influence how people define themselves, relate to others, and interpret their social worlds. Each orientation offers distinct perspectives on autonomy, responsibility, and the role of the individual within a community.Individualistic CulturesIn individualistic cultures like North America and Western Europe, identity is understood as autonomous and...
294

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Reply to Boudry: The threat of evolvable AI is too grave to be left to intuition.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Evolvable AI: Threats of a new major transition in evolution.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

The evolutionary dynamics of language.

Bio Systems·2017
Same author

Agent-based models for the emergence and evolution of grammar.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2016
Same author

I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this: Comment on "Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: Framing the language-ready brain" by Michael A. Arbib.

Physics of life reviews·2016
Same author

Agent-based models of strategies for the emergence and evolution of grammatical agreement.

PloS one·2013
Same journal

Mind wandering during first- and foreign-language reading.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Lexical word processing is unaffected by rapid invisible frequency tagging in reading: Evidence from eye movements.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Anxiety modulates voluntary attentional orienting to emotional gaze cues: Eye movements for pro- and anti-saccades.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Faster key-press responses to front vowels than back vowels when matching heard vowels with represented vowels.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Testing the interleaving effect without response bias: A forced-choice reevaluation of Kornell and Bjork (2008).

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

The impact of social interaction on abstract concepts.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
05:35

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

7.1K

Human language is a culturally evolving system.

Luc Steels1

  • 1Icrea, Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (UPF-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain. steels@arti.vub.ac.be.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|July 22, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human language evolution differs from animal communication, driven by community needs for expressiveness and cognitive ease, not just biology. Understanding these cultural evolutionary dynamics is key to language change.

Keywords:
Emergence of grammarEvolutionary linguisticsFluid construction grammar

More Related Videos

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
06:48

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

9.9K
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

18.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
05:35

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

7.1K
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
06:48

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

9.9K
Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

18.1K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Linguistics
  • Animal Communication
  • Cultural Evolution

Background:

  • Languages undergo rapid cultural evolution, similar to some animal communication systems like bird song.
  • A key distinction lies in the primary drivers of change in human language versus animal communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate the selectionist pressures on human language evolution from biological factors.
  • To identify the causal mechanisms driving language evolution based on communicative success and cognitive efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of language change through the lens of cultural evolution.
  • Examination of selectionist pressures beyond biological fitness, focusing on expressive power and cognitive load.

Main Results:

  • Human language evolution is primarily shaped by the need for expressive power, communicative success, and reduced cognitive effort.
  • Biological factors (survival, fecundity) are not the main selectionist pressures for human language change.

Conclusions:

  • An evolutionary linguistics approach must explain how cognitive mechanisms and social interactions sustain language sharing amidst constant change.
  • The study posits that language emerges and persists due to social and cognitive dynamics, not solely biological imperatives.