Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Language Development

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...

Language

Language

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...

Three Developmental Domains

Three Developmental Domains

Human development is typically examined across three main domains: physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional. These domains represent the significant areas of change and continuity throughout the lifespan, from infancy to late adulthood.
Physical Development
Physical processes, also known as maturation, encompass the biological changes that occur across an individual's life. These changes begin with genetic inheritance and continue through various stages, including growth in height and weight,...

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

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.

Introduction to Developmental Psychology

Introduction to Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology explores the changes and continuities in human abilities throughout life, encompassing physical, cognitive, linguistic, and social dimensions. Human development is not restricted to growth, but includes aspects of decline, particularly in physical abilities as individuals age. Developmental psychologists seek to understand how people change as they age and how their mental and social skills evolve.Developmental MilestonesA key concept in developmental psychology is...

Components of Language

Components of Language

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Effect of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae on sagittal balance of lumbo-pelvic complexity assessed by quantitative whole-body CT imaging.

Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery·2023

Same author

Preparation of CPVC-based activated carbon spheres and insight into the adsorption-desorption performance for typical volatile organic compounds.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2023

Same author

Genome- and transcriptome-wide identification of trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatases (TPP) gene family and their expression patterns under abiotic stress and exogenous trehalose in soybean.

BMC plant biology·2023

Same author

Assessing the responses of different vegetation types to drought with satellite solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence over the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Optics express·2023

Same author

The Influence of Cadmium on Fountain Grass Performance Correlates Closely with Metabolite Profiles.

Plants (Basel, Switzerland)·2023

Same author

Advancing <i>in situ</i> single-cell microbiological analysis through a microwell droplet array with a gradual open sidewall.

Lab on a chip·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking IPL: Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism

Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking IPL: Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism

Published on: December 14, 2012

Verbal Development, Behavioral Metamorphosis, and the Evolution of Language.

Peter Pohl¹, R Douglas Greer², Lin Du²

¹Child Psychology Practice Garmisch, St.-Martin-Str. 10, D-82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Perspectives on Behavior Science

|May 23, 2020

Summary

This study introduces behavioral metamorphosis to explain verbal development, drawing parallels between child language acquisition and evolutionary biology. It proposes a new hypothesis for language evolution based on these transformations.

Keywords:

Behavioral metamorphosis Bidirectional Naming (BiN)Evolutionary developmental biology Verbal behavior development

More Related Videos

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

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

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

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking IPL: Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism

Portable Intermodal Preferential Looking IPL: Investigating Language Comprehension in Typically Developing Toddlers and Young Children with Autism

Published on: December 14, 2012

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

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

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

Area of Science:

Behavioral Psychology
Evolutionary Developmental Biology
Linguistics

Background:

Skinner's theory of verbal behavior has been expanded to include listener roles and interactions.
Comparative biology investigates the evolution of language in Homo sapiens.
Research identified developmental cusps in verbal behavior, analogous to metamorphosis.

Purpose of the Study:

To expand the concept of metamorphosis from morphology to behavior.
To present findings from experimental analyses of verbal development.
To propose a novel hypothesis for language evolution based on behavioral metamorphosis.

Main Methods:

Experimental analysis of verbal development in children.
Comparative biology perspectives on language evolution.
Identification and establishment of verbal behavior developmental cusps.

Main Results:

Striking changes in stimulus control observed during verbal development onset.
Verbal development conceptualized as behavioral metamorphosis and complex transformation.
A new hypothesis linking behavioral metamorphosis to language evolution.

Conclusions:

Behavioral metamorphosis offers a novel framework for understanding verbal development.
This perspective integrates findings from psychology and evolutionary biology.
The study provides the first formulation of verbal development as behavioral metamorphosis in evolutionary developmental biology.