Bodily constraints contributing to multimodal referentiality in humans: The contribution of a de-pigmented sclera to proto-declaratives

García, Juan Olvido Perea; Ehlers, Katrine Rosendal; Tylén, Kristian

doi:10.1016/j.langcom.2016.10.007

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Spatial demonstratives are highly frequent lexical forms found across all natural languages 23 . Used in conjunction with pointing gestures and gaze cues, they constitute powerful interpersonal coordination devices 24,25 , that allow interlocutors to jointly attend to relevant locations, and to align on shared spatial representations. Whereas some languages have highly elaborate systems, most languages show a simple dyadic distinction between a so-called proximal (“this”, in English) and a distal (“that”) demonstrative 26 .…”

Section: Representing Space For Action and Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

This is for you: Social modulations of proximal vs. distal space in collaborative interaction

Rocca

Wallentin

Vesper

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Human spatial representations are shaped by affordances for action offered by the environment. A prototypical example is the organization of space into peripersonal (within reach) and extrapersonal (outside reach) regions, mirrored by proximal (this/here) and distal (that/there) linguistic expressions. The peri-/extrapersonal distinction has been widely investigated in individual contexts, but little is known about how spatial representations are modulated by interaction with other people. Is near/far coding of space dynamically adapted to the position of a partner when space, objects, and action goals are shared? Over two preregistered experiments based on a novel interactive paradigm, we show that, in individual and social contexts involving no direct collaboration, linguistic coding of locations as proximal or distal depends on their distance from the speaker’s hand. In contrast, in the context of collaborative interactions involving turn-taking and role reversal, proximal space is shifted towards the partner, and linguistic coding of near space (‘this’ / ‘here’) is remapped onto the partner’s action space.

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Section: Representing Space For Action and Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

This is for you: Social modulations of proximal vs. distal space in collaborative interaction

Rocca

Wallentin

Vesper

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Eye morphology may also promote cooperation within a group (Haley and Fessler 2005;Bateson et al 2006;Ernest-Jones et al 2011;Krátký et al 2016; see also Carbon and Hesslinger 2011 for a revision of Bateson et al's 2006 paradigm) and establishing eye contact may assist cooperation (Behrens and Kret 2019). Similarly, a large and depigmented sclera may make it easier for conspecifics to infer intentions in cooperative tasks (Kobayashi and Kohshima 2001;Tomasello et al 2007;Perea-García et al 2017) and, through eye contact, establish, reinforce and negotiate social bonds (Kobayashi and Hashiya 2011). Conspicuous eye morphology together with surrounding facial features may also facilitate ostensive communication, whereby the signaller makes explicit his or her communicative intention to the receiver (Csibra et al 2008;Tylén et al 2012); similarly, the visibility of the white of the eye and changes of colour in the depigmented sclera (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in ocular morphology in Caucasian people: a dubious role of sexual selection in the evolution of sexual dimorphism of the human eye

Danel

Wacewicz

Kleisner

et al. 2020

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The horizontal size of the exposed depigmented sclera in Caucasians has been previously suggested to be sexually dimorphic, and the significance of this phenomenon remains unclear. Here we build on a previous study and extend it by (i) examining sex differences in other measures of ocular morphology and (ii) exploring the link between eye morphology and biometric markers of facial attractiveness. We used facial photographs of 100 Caucasians (50 men) from Eastern-Central Europe and digitally measured four ocular features. Eye measurements were tested for sex differences and associations with morphometric data on facial averageness and sexual shape dimorphism. We found that sclera surface is more horizontally exposed in men, even though the total surface area is similar in both sexes. We also found that eye fissures are rounder (less rectangular) in women than in men and that irises are brighter in women. We did not find any relationship between the examined eye features and two aspects of facial attractiveness: facial averageness and sexual dimorphism in facial shape. Despite being sexually dimorphic, eye features may be loosely linked with the development of facial sexual ornamentation. The role of sexual selection in the evolution of the observed phenomena is disputable. Significance statement It is often argued that because of their physical appearance, human eyes are crucial to interpersonal and social interactions. In many aspects, however, the significance of the human eye architecture is unclear. In this study, we examine sex differences in eye morphology and explore the link between ocular features and biometric measures of facial attractiveness in Caucasian men and women. We found that despite being sexually dimorphic, eye features may be loosely linked with biometric markers of facial attractiveness. We argue that the role of sexual selection in the evolution of the observed sex differences is disputable.

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“…e.g. Perea García et al 2017 ). Crucially, when viewed from the perspective of evolutionary behavioural science, the emergence and stability of cooperative behaviour are subject to strong game-theoretic constraints (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Humans do not perceive conspecifics with a greater exposed sclera as more trustworthy: a preliminary cross-ethnic study of the function of the overexposed human sclera

et al. 2018

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Understanding the adaptive function of the unique morphology of the human eye, in particular its overexposed white sclera, may have profound implications for the fields of evolutionary behavioural science, and specifically the areas of human interaction and social cognition. Existing hypotheses, such as the cooperative eye hypothesis, have attracted a lot of attention but remain untested. Here, we: (i) analysed variation in the visible sclera size in humans from different ethnic backgrounds and (ii) examined whether intraspecific variation of exposed sclera size is related to trust. We used 596 facial photographs of men and women, assessed for perceived trustworthiness, from four different self-declared racial backgrounds. The size of the exposed sclera was measured as the ratio between the width of the exposed eyeball and the diameter of the iris (sclera size index, SSI). The SSI did not differ in the four examined races and was sexually monomorphic except for Whites, where males had a larger SSI than females. In general, the association between the SSI and trustworthiness was statistically insignificant. An inverted U-shaped link was found only in White women, yet the strength of the effect of interaction between sex and race was very small. Our results did not provide evidence for the link between exposed sclera size and trustworthiness. We conclude that further investigation is necessary in order to properly assess the hypotheses relating to the socially relevant functions of overexposed sclera.

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Bodily constraints contributing to multimodal referentiality in humans: The contribution of a de-pigmented sclera to proto-declaratives

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

This is for you: Social modulations of proximal vs. distal space in collaborative interaction

This is for you: Social modulations of proximal vs. distal space in collaborative interaction

Sex differences in ocular morphology in Caucasian people: a dubious role of sexual selection in the evolution of sexual dimorphism of the human eye

Humans do not perceive conspecifics with a greater exposed sclera as more trustworthy: a preliminary cross-ethnic study of the function of the overexposed human sclera

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