Mathematics
Cafe Scientifique: The Evolution of Communication
Start date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:00:00 GMT
Finish date: Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:00:00 GMT
Tuesday, 25 January, 2011
8-10 pm
Le Café Parisien, 1 Lord Montgomery Way, Portsmouth, PO1 2AH
The Evolution of Communication
Communication is a defining feature of human social interaction. Our social lives hinge on the ability to share feelings, thoughts and intentions with each other, and without these skills, human society would be a very different place. Evolutionary scientists argue that communication is not an accident of evolution, but has evolved to serve important functions in primate society. One function is social bonding – keeping large groups together. Communicative signals such as facial expression, gesture and vocalisations can also be seen in our relatives, other primates (chimpanzees, gorillas, etc.). The evolution of communication can be understood through comparing these species and building a picture of what has caused communication to change and develop to meet the specific needs of each species.
Dr. Bridget Waller (Bio sketch)
Dr. Waller’s main research interests are comparative facial communication and the evolution of emotion. She has published numerous scientific articles on humans and other primates (including chimpanzees, gibbons and macaques). Specifically, she is interested in the evolutionary function of facial expression in social interaction, and why communicating emotion is so important to society. She is a certified facial expression coder (FACS) and has been part of the team to modify this system for use with other primate species. Her first degree was in Zoology, and she continues to use a Darwinian approach to the study of behaviour. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Portsmouth and Visiting Professor at the Cluster Languages of Emotion, Frei Universitat Berlin.
Further Information
Participation is free and open to all. No booking is necessary.