WJEC Psychology PY 2
Core Studies
Gardner, B. T. & Gardner, R. A.
(1969) “Teaching Sign Language
to a Chimpanzee”
Communication and Language
• Communication - transmitting information from
one individual or group to another individual or
group.
• Animals can certainly communicate with each
other. The debate is about whether they can use
something similar to human language to do this.
• Language is a small number of signals (sounds,
letters, gestures) that by themselves are
meaningless, but which can be organised into
meaningful combinations and using certain rules
to make an infinite number of messages.
What is Language?
• With a partner – write as detailed an
explanation as you can. (4 minutes)
• Compare with another pair and add extr
ideas that you find.(4 minutes)
• P98
Communication and Language
• Noam Chomsky (1957) argued humans
have Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
• We are programmed to learn language in
a way different to other animals.
• Human cultures all over the world have
language
• Children learn language very quickly.
• But are we really so different from other
animals?
Context
• If a chimp can be taught to use and understand
language, then humans are not unique in being
able to communicate I this way.
• Hayes and Hayes(1951) spent several YEARS
teaching a chimp called Vicky to say FOUR
words.
• Kellogg & Kellogg(1933) had similar problems
with Gua, who seemed to understand around
100 spoken words
Context
• Premack and Premack (1966)
• Sarah (chimpanzee)
• Learned to use chips of different colours
and shapes (130 signs, sentences up to 8
signs long)
• BUT did not spontaneously ask questions.
Context Continued
• Perhaps the problem is in chimps vocal
cords – if we provide them with another
way of “speaking” they could develop the
use and understanding of language.
• Yerkes (1943) lab chimps spontaneously
beg and solve problems with their hands –
sign language would be appropriate)
Aims
• Allen and Beatrice
Gardner wanted to see if
a chimp could
communicate with
humans.
• Chimps are constrained
by their vocal chords from
repeating some sounds,
so the Gardners wanted
to see if a chimp could
learn sign language.
Method
• A single participant
case study
(chimpanzee
named Washoe)
Participant
• A chimpanzee named Washoe who was
between 8 – 11 months old when first
acquired by the Gardners.
• She had been born in the wild in Africa
and taken to America.
• A chimp was chosen because they are
intelligent and sociable.
Procedure
The researchers decided to teach Washoe
American Sign Language (ASL) for several
reasons:
• Chimps are physically unable to vocalise some
sounds.
• Chimps are very good at using their hands.
• ASL is equivalent to spoken language.
• ASL would allow them to compare Washoe’s
progress with that of deaf children who also
learn ASL.
Procedures
• All people who dealt with Washoe had to
master ASL.
• The Gardners made sure that Washoe had
lots of companions who were also learning
ASL.
• All communication with Washoe was
through ASL approved signs.
Procedures
• Operant conditioning training methods
were used which meant that each time
Washoe produced a sign that was
recognisable, she was rewarded by being
tickled (she loved being tickled).
• Records were kept of her signing
behaviour.
Procedure
• To decide whether a sign had been learned properly a
double blind procedure was used by the researchers.
• They put a box with a picture inside where Washoe
would play.
• When she opened the box and saw the picture, she
made a sign.
• The sign was observed by a researcher and noted.
• A second researcher, who could not see the box, also
recorded what they thought the sign that Washoe had
made represented.
• This was then checked and only if the sign corresponded
to the picture and was used in context for a period of 15
consecutive days, was it counted as being learned.
Procedure
• Imitation – “Do this” not very successful
• Prompting –correcting sloppy signing by
imitation
• Using signs – the way humans use spoken
language around a baby
• Babbling – playing with hands
• Direct tuition
Findings
• Washoe spontaneously imitated but it
wasn’t until the 16th month of work (when
Washoe was about 2 – 2½ years old) that
the Gardners had any control over her
gestures.
• They encouraged her to babble by smiling,
clapping and repeating, especially when
the babbling resembled ASL.
Findings
• Washoe learned the term ‘more’ through play.
• At first she would indicate she wanted more tickling by
putting the researcher’s hands on her ribs.
• They noticed that when she was tickled, she put her
arms together to cover the area being tickled.
• This gesture is very similar to the ASL sign for ‘more’.
• They encouraged her by rewarding her whenever she
used the sign by more tickling.
• She soon learned to associate the sign with the tickling
that resulted.
Findings
• At the end of 22 months, Washoe could use
about 30 word signs.
• 4 other words – dog, smell, me and clean- were
stable but didn’t meet criteria.
• More – food/tickling
• Drink – for water. Pop = drink+sweet
• Sorry – After biting someone, when told to
apologise.
• Baby – Dolls: human or animals
• Please – asking for object or activity
Findings
Words Learned
• Come-gimme funny flower
please. Sorry you hurt cat
baby – go out!
Findings
•
•
•
•
First 7 months – 4 new signs
First 14 months – 13 new signs total
First 21 months – 30 new signs total
+ 4 not stable – dog smell me clean
Findings
• Like human children, once she had about
8 signs
• She could combine the signs to make
short messages such as ‘Washoe go out’
• She was also able to invent novel phrases,
such as “listen dog” to refer to barking of
unseen dog
• “open food drink” for open refrigerator
Findings
Washoe’s language resembled human
children in 3 ways:
• Differentiating – Separating signs for
different meanings eg “flower” “smell”
• Transfer – generalising from one flower to
other types of flowers
• Combining Signs – putting together
phrases eg “listen dog”
Conclusion
• The choice of sign language was a good
one as it did allow Washoe to
communicate with her companions.
• It showed that chimps can learn more than
a few words.
• Washoe’s ability to combine signs and
transfer meanings from specific to general
cases suggests a lot more is possible
Conclusion
• Washoe’s signs do not remain specific to
their original contexts which would suggest
that she has learned language.
• The Gardners are reluctant to say whether
Washoe has language.
• BUT she was clearly able to communicate
with Gardners.
Evaluation - Methodology
Method : Case Study
• Advantage – allowed the Gardner’s to
treat Washoe like a human child and
create a “natural” human-like environment.
• Advantage – provided a lot of qualitative
data.
• Disadvantage – how typical a chimpanzee
was Washoe?
Evaluation - Methodology
The choice of sign language was good
because it enabled Washoe to copy words
that she would never be able to vocalise.
Washoe was able to use learned signs in a
wide variety of contexts: "open" for
example would be used with doors, tins
and nuts showing she had learned
language.
Evaluation - Methodology
Reliability
• Three observers agreed on a sign.
• Fifteen days use.
• Use of box to test signing ability.
• This seems a reasonable method and we
would expect to get replicable results
using this procedure.
Evaluation - Methodology
Validity
• Observer bias – researchers influenced by
relationship with Washoe?
• Was Washoe using language, or just
responding to cues from researches?
• See Clever Hans p140 in textbook – is it
the same for Washoe.
• Is the Washoe study supported by other
animal research?
Evaluation - Methodology
Ethical Issues
• Washoe taken out of her environment to
satisfy human curiosity – is this right?
• Ethical to teach language to animals?
• Do the findings of this research justify
depriving Washoe of her natural
environment?
Evaluation – Other Research
• Savage-Rumbaugh(1991) – 10 years of training
Kanzi on a Lexigram.
• Kanzi learned some words observing his mother
being taught so Savage-Rumbaugh kept the
training similar to the environment a child would
experience.
• Kanzi learned 200 words and understood simple
rules (action before object) which suggests that
chimps don’t simply learn signs.
• This Supports Gardner and Gardner because….
Evaluation – Alternative Evidence
• KEY QUESTION – can chimps learn and
use a human language?
• Gardners didn’t want to get involved in
philosophical debate.
• Happy that they could COMMUNICATE
with Washoe.
• Other research might tell us more about
what chimps can do
Evaluation – Alternative Evidence
More Gardner Research. WASHOE
• Died at 40
• Vocabulary – 250 signs
• Reported everyday conversations
• Moja, Tatu & Dar
• Loulis
Evaluation – Alternative Evidence
More Gardner Research. Moja, Tatu & Dar
• All raised from new born
• Different ages, so like siblings
• In training, signs used for dialogue, rather
than simply for requests ( to avoid operant
conditioning)
• This supports and develops Gardner’s
findings because…
Evaluation – Alternative Evidence
More Gardner Research. LOULIS
• Adopted.
• Trainers only used 7 signs in his presence:
who, which, want, where, name, that, sign
• Loulis acquired 50 signs from other
chimps.
• Mirrors the way human children learn.
• This supports Gardner’s research
because….
Evaluation – Alternative Evidence
Terrace (1979). NIM CHIMPSKY
• Learned 125 signs and made different
combinations.
• 20,000 combinations in 2 years
• Found difference with human child
language.
• Concluded – Nim was not using equivalent
of human language.
• This opposes Gardner’s research
because…
Evaluation – Alternative Evidence
Savage Rumbaugh et al (1986, 1993)
KANZI & MULIKA
• Kanzi – learned Lexigram from mother.
• By 17 months, 2500 combinations
• Fewer than Nim, but other-focused.
• Found Kanzi’s learning better than
“common” chimps (Individual Differences)
This supports Gardner’s research
because….
Evaluation – Other Research
Computer Language : ELIZA
• Computers can produce language in
response to humans.
• Does this mean they can understand it?
• How does this relate to Washoe’s use of
signs?
• This contradicts the work of Gardner
because….