2026-09-19T05:46:21Zhttps://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/oai/requestoai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/307272026-05-14T13:57:38Zcom_1813_35col_1813_47
Syal, Supriya
Goldstein, Michael H.
Regan, Elizabeth
Finlay, Barbara L.
Pizarro, David A.
2012-12-17T13:51:03Z
2016-12-30T06:47:00Z
2011-08-31
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/30727
7955548
Language is social because the motivation to communicate is contingent on the presence of social conspecifics. This thesis studies vocal learning in two social species, humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and an oscine songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Using both behavioral and neuroanatomical data, Chapter 2 of this thesis argues that both the evolution and the development of vocal learning were triggered by the evolution of gated links between subcortical social motivation and cortical learning devices. Chapters 3 and 4 study human vocal learning in the socially motivated contexts in which human infants typically learn language. Chapter 3 studies early phonological learning within a social reinforcement paradigm wherein specific features of the interaction between mothers and infants guide the learning and production of new distributional information. Chapter 4 looks at the effects of changing maternal motivations on maternal behavior, and their subsequent facilitatory effects on infant vocal learning. Chapter 5 suggests that motivation derived from early interactions with social conspecifics drives vocal development in young zebra finches. Overall, this thesis provides evidence that vocal learning is shaped by social interaction and argues for a consideration social motivation as a control parameter in vocal learning.
en_US
Socially Motivated Vocal Learning
dissertation or thesis
application/pdf
Psychology
Cornell University
Doctor of Philosophy
Ph. D., Psychology
Publication
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Syal, Supriya
5893a6ea-7af3-41d7-abc6-04bcd26ab5df
open.access
open.access
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<Abstract>Language is social because the motivation to communicate is contingent on the presence of social conspecifics. This thesis studies vocal learning in two social species, humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and an oscine songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Using both behavioral and neuroanatomical data, Chapter 2 of this thesis argues that both the evolution and the development of vocal learning were triggered by the evolution of gated links between subcortical social motivation and cortical learning devices. Chapters 3 and 4 study human vocal learning in the socially motivated contexts in which human infants typically learn language. Chapter 3 studies early phonological learning within a social reinforcement paradigm wherein specific features of the interaction between mothers and infants guide the learning and production of new distributional information. Chapter 4 looks at the effects of changing maternal motivations on maternal behavior, and their subsequent facilitatory effects on infant vocal learning. Chapter 5 suggests that motivation derived from early interactions with social conspecifics drives vocal development in young zebra finches. Overall, this thesis provides evidence that vocal learning is shaped by social interaction and argues for a consideration social motivation as a control parameter in vocal learning.</Abstract>
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