Early Human Gestures Mirror Ape Communication Patterns
Human children aged 1-2 years utilize a significant majority of gestures that are also found in the repertoire of chimpanzees, suggesting a shared evolutionary basis for gestural communication.
Animal Cognition · 2018
Key Findings
- 01Children aged 1-2 years employed 52 distinct gestures.
- 0246 of these gestures (89%) are present in the chimpanzee repertoire.
- 03Similar to chimpanzees, children used gestures both individually and in sequences, and flexibly applied individual gestures towards different goals.
Application
Design takeaway
Incorporate gestural elements that are likely to be intuitively understood, drawing inspiration from fundamental primate communication patterns where applicable.
How to apply
When designing interfaces for early childhood or for cross-cultural applications, consider gestures that have a strong basis in primate communication, as they may be more universally recognized.
Project actions
- 01When researching user interaction, consider the evolutionary roots of communication.
- 02Observe how users naturally gesture and try to map these to potential interface actions.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Utilized a methodology common in ape gesture studies, allowing for direct comparison.
- +Conducted research in two different cultural contexts (Germany and Uganda).
Limitations
The study's findings are specific to 1-2 year olds and may not apply to older children or adults. The context of the gestures (e.g., specific goals) was observed but not exhaustively analyzed for semantic meaning.
Reliability & validity
Reliability could be enhanced by having multiple coders analyze the gesture recordings independently. Validity is supported by the comparison to established ape gesture repertoires and the use of naturalistic observation.
Think critically
How might the cultural context of Germany and Uganda have influenced the observed gestural repertoires, and what are the implications for designing universally understood gestures?
Design Principles
"Leverage innate gestural commonalities for intuitive user interaction."
Understanding the foundational elements of human gestural communication, particularly its overlap with primate communication, can inform the design of more intuitive and universally understood interfaces. It highlights how deeply ingrained certain communicative forms might be, influencing how users interact with technology and products.
What This Means for Your Design
Even very young children use many of the same hand signals as chimpanzees, showing that some ways of communicating with gestures are very old and basic.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the foundational principles of non-verbal communication in your design project.
- 2.Use the findings to justify the selection of certain visual or gestural cues in your design.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2018). A gestural repertoire of 1- to 2-year-old human children: in search of the ape gestures. Animal Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-018-1213-z Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/3618f682-5552-4b64-8f31-b15c6690bc8c/early-human-gestures-mirror-ape-communication-patterns
Paragraph starter
Research indicates that early human gestural communication shares significant commonalities with that of primates. For instance, a study by Kersken et al. (2018) found that 89% of gestures used by 1- to 2-year-old children were also present in the chimpanzee repertoire, suggesting a deep evolutionary basis for certain communicative actions. This highlights the potential for designers to tap into these innate gestural patterns for creating more intuitive and universally understood interfaces.
Source
Animal Cognition
A gestural repertoire of 1- to 2-year-old human children: in search of the ape gestures
journal · 2018
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about early human gestures mirror ape communication patterns?
- Incorporate gestural elements that are likely to be intuitively understood, drawing inspiration from fundamental primate communication patterns where applicable. Evidence: Animal Cognition (2018).
- Why does "Early Human Gestures Mirror Ape Communication Patterns" matter for design?
- Understanding the foundational elements of human gestural communication, particularly its overlap with primate communication, can inform the design of more intuitive and universally understood interfaces. It highlights how deeply ingrained certain communicative forms might be, influencing how users interact with technology and products.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Incorporate gestural elements that are likely to be intuitively understood, drawing inspiration from fundamental primate communication patterns where applicable.
- What were the main findings?
- Children aged 1-2 years employed 52 distinct gestures.. 46 of these gestures (89%) are present in the chimpanzee repertoire.. Similar to chimpanzees, children used gestures both individually and in sequences, and flexibly applied individual gestures towards different goals.
- What research method was used?
- Observational study with 13 children.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2018 journal from Animal Cognition.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing interfaces for early childhood or for cross-cultural applications, consider gestures that have a strong basis in primate communication, as they may be more universally recognized.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focused on a specific age group and did not explore the developmental trajectory of these gestures or their precise semantic mapping in human language.
- Is there evidence that communication affects design outcomes?
- Young human children use a vast majority of gestures that are also used by chimpanzees, indicating a strong commonality in gestural communication across species. Understanding the foundational elements of human gestural communication, particularly its overlap with primate communication, can inform the design of more in Source: Animal Cognition (2018).
- Where does this communication patterns research apply?
- Early childhood development, comparative communication, primate behaviour It sits within classic design research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
communication design research · evidence on communication · does communication improve design outcomes · communication patterns studies for designers · communication and communication patterns findings · classic design research evidence