Link to video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmAZqC49LTY&index=3&li

Question

Link to video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmAZqC49LTY&index=3&list=PL1SScROEe09U8tz8Bb3NrLJYqP8WXSEzk Based on the video above, please answer the following questions. Use as much space as needed and make sure that you fully answer the questions. 1. Do human infants differ significantly in their early development from infants and adults of apes? 2. What ability emerges in children at the end of their first year that is uniquely human? 3. What is an important difference between human language systems and animal language systems? 4. How long does it take children to process grammar in a focused, specialized area of the brain? 5. What other human activity may be tied to human language? 6. What is the significance of the Fox P2 gene found in humans? 7. Why are human brains so big? Describe research in social intelligence and relate it to the "Human Spark". 8. What is the Human Spark according to this research?

Explanation / Answer

1. Comparisons of cognitive development between humans and nonhuman apes can test hypotheses regarding shifts in both the pace and pattern of development. Considering first the pace of development, one possibility is that humans exhibit delayed ontogeny relative to nonhuman apes, developing our cognitive capacities more slowly in line with our prolonged juvenile period and longer period of maternal dependence relative to other ape species Alternatively, humans and nonhuman apes alike may show consistent ontogeny in their pace of cognitive development, with this pace constrained by the relative complexity of varying skills, predicting that the skills should require similar timing of developmental inputs for any species. eventhough the  humans exhibit accelerated ontogeny in our cognitive development relative to that of other species and that between humans and nonhuman apes there are variable patterns of cognitive development, particularly in the social cognitive domain. Taken together, these comparisons of the pace and pattern of development in children and same-age apes support the hypothesis that humans’ accelerated ontogeny might stem from the relatively early emergence of specific social cognitive skills in human children, particularly those pertaining to goal understanding and cooperative motivation.

2. One remarkable discovery of research on young children is that they are developing their own intuitive “map” of mental processes like these from very early in life . Children's developing theory of mind transforms how they respond to people and what they learn from them. Infants and young children are beginning to understand what goes on in people's minds, and how others' feelings and thoughts are similar to and different from their own.

Infants first have a relatively simple theory of mind. They are aware of some basic characteristics: what people are looking at is a sign of what they are paying attention to; people act intentionally and are goal directed; people have positive and negative feelings in response to things around them; and people have different perceptions, goals, and feelings. Children add to this mental map as their awareness grows. From infancy on, developing theory of mind permeates everyday social interactions—affecting what and how children learn, how they react to and interact with other people, how they assess the fairness of an action, and how they evaluate themselves.One-year-olds, for example, will look in their mother's direction when faced with someone or something unfamiliar to “read” mother's expression and determine whether this is a dangerous or benign unfamiliarity. Infants also detect when an adult makes eye contact, speaks in an infant-directed manner (such as using higher pitch and melodic intonations), and responds contingently to the infant's behavior. Under these circumstances, infants are especially attentive to what the adult says and does, thus devoting special attention to social situations in which the adult's intentions are likely to represent learning opportunities. this is unique for humans.

3. The brain is divided into two halves, a left hemisphere and a right hemisphere. This is called lateralization, and applies to any animal further up the evolutionary tree than, say, a worm. In animals that are particularly vocal, such as canaries, dolphins, and chimpanzees, it seems that one hemisphere or another is dedicated to controlling those behaviors and the responses to them.  
In human beings, it is the left hemisphere that usually contains the specialized language areas. While this holds true for 97% of right-handed people, about 19% of left-handed people have their language areas in the right hemisphere and as many as 68% of them have some language abilities in both the left and the right hemispheres."While both animals and humans use systems of communication, the use of complex symbols and open vocal systems is unique to humans".The first language area within the left hemisphere to be discovered is called Broca's Area, after Paul Broca. Broca was a French neurologist who had a patient with severe language problems: Although he could understand the speech of others with little difficulty, the only word he could produce was "tan.The second language area to be discovered is called Wernicke's Area, after Carl Wernicke, a German neurologist.

4. The case of language is not unique. Indeed, a backlash against strong functional specialization seems to be in vogue. A recent neuroimaging textbook argues that “unlike the phrenologists, who believed that very complex traits were associated with discrete brain regions, modern researchers recognize that … a single brain region may participate in more than one function”. the learning of language and Language processing refers to the way humans use words to communicate ideas and feelings, and how such communications are processed and understood. Thus it is how the brain creates and understands language. Most recent theories consider that this process is carried out entirely by and inside the brain; however, environmental factors play a role in the development of language processing as well. it also depends in the intelligence quotient of individual.

5. Language is a unique hallmark of the human species. Although many species can communicate in limited ways about things that are physically present, only humans can construct a full narrative characterization of events occurring outside of the here and now. Humans are also unique in their ability to fashion tools such as arrow points, axes, traps, and clothing. By using language to control the social coordination of tool making, humans have produced a material society that has achieved domination over all the creatures of our world and often over Nature herself.Language relies on far more physiological, social, and neural systems than just the intercostal muscles. It depends on systems for cortical control of vocalization, changes in group structure and affective relations, growth in cognitive abilities, neural pathways for information integration, and mechanisms for the formation of social hierarchies. The hominid lineage has undergone a remarkable series of physiological adaptations involving skeletal modifications. communication and art of writing, painting tied with the language.

6Forkhead box protein P2 (FOXP2) is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the FOXP2 gene, also known as CAGH44, SPCH1 or TNRC10, and is required for proper development of speech and language.[3] The gene is shared with many vertebrates, where it generally plays a role in communication. The FOXP2 gene produces a protein called atranscription factor, which attaches itself to other regions of DNA and switches genes on and off.

7. Humans are the only ultrasocial creature on the planet. We have outcompeted, interbred or even killed off all other hominin species. We cohabit in cities of tens of millions of people and, despite what the media tell us, violence between individuals is extremely rare. This is because we have an extremely large, flexible and complex “social brain”.This means the human brain is pre-programmed to be extremely flexible; its cerebral organisation is adjusted by the environment and society in which it is raised.The protein domain at issue is DUF1220. Humans have more than 270 copies of DUF1220 encoded in the genome, far more than other species. The closer a species is to humans, the more copies of DUF1220 show up. Chimpanzees have the next highest number, 125. Gorillas have 99, marmosets 30 and mice just one. "The one over-riding theme that we saw repeatedly was that the more copies of DUF1220 in the genome, the bigger the brain. And this held true whether we looked at different species or within the human population."

8. As infants we are rife with potential. For a short time, we have before us a seemingly infinite number of developmental paths. Soon, however, we become limited to certain paths as we grow into unique products of our genetics and experience. But what factors account for the variation—in skills, personalities, values.the General Intelligence & Cultural Intelligence hypothesis and Know the difference between altruistic helping behavior in humans and chimpanzees.•Know the difference between modeling of behavior in humans and chimpanzees.

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