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mutually reinforcing leading to else does not have personal significance
synchrony. for an observer, the motor system does
not respond in the same way at all7. The
In any dynamic social situation
goal-dependent aspect of observing the
observing one person's action can
actions of others allows us to understand
initiate neural activity in another. Parts
and respond quickly and effectively
of the observer's motor system become
without confusing what we do with what
activated, making it possible to respond
we see. However, in some special cases,
in synchrony. In fact, the specific actions
when a group of individuals all respond
that are observed are not as important as
together, the same motor system may
the perceived goals or intentions of the
operate differently. It is in these
observed person. One consequence of
situations when we arc neither observer
this is that a person is sensitive to new
nor respondent but part of a flock or
actions in the social environment. A
chorus that our sense of individuated self
second is that significant actions by
may begin to dissolve into the larger
another person can quickly produce
social group.
complementary motor responses. Thus,
adaptive social behavior is a product of The Social Parameters for Suspended
perceptual monitoring and motor Self-Consciousness
processes. The complexity of the social
The dissolution of self-other
environment necessitates selective
boundaries is likely to be manifest under
responding to socially significant
a specific set of conditions, which
features ofa ny social interaction. Such
includes a strong feeling of identification
selective responding depends on the
with (i.e., connection between) oneself
observer having particular goals for
and a group of others, the absence of
action. The identification of significant
constraints to action by oneself or the
stimuli (e.g., a threatening backhand
observed others, a common goal shared
smash) activates in the competitor's
by the group, and the absence of a
brain goal-driven decision processes that
recognized external synchronizing signal
operate in parallel with continuous social
to which one can attribute any
monitoring and lead to a counteraction
synchronized behavior. Clapping in
(e.g., a defensive lob) produced by the
unison following a rousing performance
motor system. However, a linesman
is a more common example. This
collecting a ball during a tennis match
remarkable phenomenon is evidenced
does not constitute a significant action
despite considerable individual
for the competition and, even if
differences in clapping tempos. The
observed, does not initiate any
transition to entrained clapping, whereby
counteraction.
each clapper affects the surrounding
Let us now return to the other clappers both locally and globally,
perspective of a spectator at the tennis enhances the noise intensity at the
match. While the specific movements moment of the clapping even though it
driving the tennis match have significant leads to a decrease in the overall average
implications for the players' actions, noise intensity in the room.
these movements have a different Synchronized behavior occurs
implication for the spectator from whom rhythmically and one way of capturing
no overt responses are warranted. If an its regularities is to model its cycles,
observed action produced by someone periods, frequencies, and amplitudes L.
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Depending on the particular behavior performance somehow produces
and interaction in question, behavioral synchronous clapping.
cycles of interpersonal entrainment can
There is preliminary evidence
range from milliseconds to hours.
that even with no externally imposed
Indeed, this kind of interpersonal
demands prolonged synchronization
entrainment is a pervasive phenomenon
emerges within pairs of people
not specific to human social behavior
interacting or dyads9. What one finds is
atones.
that despite individual differences in
When does synchronized movements, participants entrain (tap
clapping occur? The distinctive feature together in time) rapidly when
of such an event is a convergence participants can perceive the behavior of
between the neural mechanisms others'. Extensive research in
underlying the monitoring of the coordination dynamics has demonstrated
movement of others and the execution of that such entrainment does not depend
one's own movements. The specific on the intention to coordinate behavior
factors responsible for the tipping point 10' II. Studies have repeatedly shown that
from asynchronous to synchronous there is a spontaneous propensity to
clapping are not yet known, but mimic other people (generally observed
descriptively each individual shifts the in dyads). One implication this kind of
timing of his or her subsequent clap to behavioral synchrony is the emergence
the perceived timing of claps by the of affective bonding — such as a feeling
whole collective. Thus, a continuous of rapport — both in the case of mimicryl-
adjustment process emerges in the form and between the synchronized partners".
of a collective behavior (synchronized One might conjecture that positive
clapping) to which each individual feelings are even stronger when more
contributes and no single individual people are synchronized.
controls. Such continuous monitoring of
The conditions that lead to
the collective rather than individuals
behavioral synchrony can vary. It is
within the collective and the adjustment
interesting that people may be more
of one's own movements to synchronize
likely to experience the dissolution of
one's behavior with that of the collective
self-other boundaries when
result in a continuous loop of performing
synchronization is produced without any
the very same action leading to
obvious external director and is
dissolution between self and other and
continuous. Prolonged spontaneous and
the emergence of an entrained unit. The
unintended entrainment among three or
resulting effect is the materialization of a
more people may introduce this feeling,
supra-individual behavioral
because the emergence of synchrony
phenomenon, namely extended
cannot be attributed to a single external
behavioral cycles that are locked
cause.
together in time. Although the
emergence of clapping in unison can be Conclusions
regarded as a phenomenon worthy of
Social interaction involving
more detailed understanding, it does not
extended periods of synchronized
induce in its performers the necessity of
behavior are not part of our daily
searching for an explanation since the
experience, particularly when they
readily available account is that the
involve more than two people. How do
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we understand this kind of synchrony Coordination. In G.R. Semin & E.R.
when it occurs? In the Western Smith (Eds.), Embodied grounding:
intellectual tradition, we have a strong Social, cognitive, affective, and
tendency to search and explain events in neuroscientific approaches (pp. 119-
terms of individual agency and 148). New York: Cambridge University
causation. Press
Social events are generally
Semin, G. R. & Cacioppo, J. T. (2009).
4
understood in terms of contributions of
From Embodied Representation to Co-
the individual and the situation itself.
Regulation. In J. A. Pineda (Ed.).
The degree to which the person or the
"Mirror Neuron Systems: The Role of
situational constraints shape the nature
Mirroring Processes in Social
of the event will vary greatly. However,
Cognition." (pp. 107-120). Humana
spontaneous and prolonged entrainment
Press.
among three or more people introduces
an experience that is difficult to explain 5 Iacoboni, M., Woods, R. P., Brass, M.,
by these more traditional accounts. Bekkering, H., Mazziotta, J. C., &
These experiences cannot be easily Rizzolatti, G. (1999) Science, 286:2526-
reduced the actions of a single person, so 2528
an account has to be found in some
Elsinger C. L., Harrington D. L., &
source that goes beyond the individual. 6
Rao S. M. (2006). From preparation to
The powerful sense of unity and
online control: Reappraisal of neural
belonging that emerges from this kind of
circuitry mediating internally generated
experience almost demands a different
and externally guided actions.
kind of explanation than we generally
Neurolmage 31:1177-1187.
consider. Indeed, such feelings
emerging from the synchrony of
7 Baldissera, F., Cavallari, P., Craighero,
behavior may provide some of the
L., & Fadiga, L (2001). Modulation of
foundation for the cultural interpretation
spinal excitability during observation of
of a transcendental experience.
hand actions in humans, European
References Journal ofN euroscience, 13, 190 -194.
Ne'da, Z., Ravasz, E., Brechet, Y.,
Strogatz, S. (2003). Rhythms ofn ature,
8
Vicsek, T., & Barabasi, A. L. (2000a).
rhythms ofo urselves. London: Allan
The sound of many hands
Lane.
clapping'Tumultuous applause can
transform itself into waves of Tognoli, E., Lagarde, J., DeGuzman, C.
9
synchronized clapping. Nature, 403, D., Kelso, J. A. S. (2007). The phi
849_850. complex as a neuromarker of human
social coordination. PNAS, 19, 8190-
Nesda, Z., Ravasz, E., Vicsek, T.,
2 8195.
Brechet, Y., & Barabasi, A. L. (2000b).
•
Physics of the rhythmic applause. 10 Oulher, O. & Kelso, J. A. S. (2009, in
Physical Review E, 61, 6987_6992. press). Coordination from the
perspective of Social Coordination
Semin, G. R. & Cacioppo, J. T. (2008).
3 Dynamics. Encyclopedia ofC omplexity
Grounding Social Cognition:
and System Science., 1-29.
Synchronization, Entrainment, and
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11 Jim, V. K., & Kelso, J. A. S. (2004)
Coordination Dynamics: Issues and
Trends. Springer, New York.
12 Dijksterhuis, A, & Bargh J. A. (2001).
Advances In Experimental Social
Psychology, 33, 1-40.
13 Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., &
Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional
contagion. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
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Howard Nusbaum specifically
You and I as One
discusses a different invisible social
Any social group can be thought force that has evolved with the power to
of as either a collection of individuals or bind people into a collective—language.
as a single new entity with emergent, Language is the richest social signal that
unified group behavior. When a mob has the power to move people to act and
forms to surge together down a street to move groups to act together. In order
one way and then another; when a flock for language to act as a force, it must
of birds wheels about together, closely somehow affect people with sufficient
clustered as they fly without colliding; social and emotional impact. As
and when an orchestra performs with Nusbaum discusses the impact of
highly coordinated timing, we language, it operates at a social and
momentarily forget about the individuals emotional level similar to that discussed
and see the collective behavior as a new, by Semin rather than exclusively
single social entity. Indeed, as Cacioppo through the inferences drawn from
discusses, many species seem to gather, meaning.
flock, and coordinate to form such
collectives. For humans there are many
situations from flash mobs and sports
teams to choirs and audiences, when
people congregate in this way.
The drive for people to affiliate
and group is not sufficient on its own to
produce the coordinated behavior that
emerges from such a collective.
Sometimes an organizing signal, like the
conductor of an orchestra, can
synchronize the behavior. Other times
common goals and behavioral
constraints can synchronize a group, as
in a flock of birds. In his chapter, Gun
Semin discusses how such synchrony
may be self-organizing — that is, it is
achieved without intention, effort, or
awareness by our social brains, even
when there is no clear signal or
constraint. In cases of such human
sociality, the group may act as though it
has a single mind. Indeed, Semin
approaches this issue to relate the
collective behavior as an embodied
consequence of individual social forces
that jointly operate to satisfy our need to
affiliate, and to consider how connecting
behavior through synchrony may create
a collective mind.
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Language is one of the most
conn V e m c b t o io k n— g important ways in which the social brain
understandin
"act makes connections, enhances
UM...
g " ua - g F etl r h icalon•-.4I connections, and severs connections
rtem tieirot
tail among people. Language is our primary
--ilfrsgrechr"- medium of social exchange, grounding
auarr u- "age — f and elaborating our selves and our
a— wever
relationships in every conversation.
Chapter 77 However, language goes well beyond
personal connections to connect us
Action at a Distance: The Invisible
culturally through stories, songs, and
Force of Language
shared manners of speech. Language
also provides the formal framework that
defines many of our social institutions.
Language gives form and substance to
The lead author is Howard Nusbaum, Ph.D.,
the governance and behavior of every
Professor of Psychology and Computational
Neuroscience, and co-director of the Center for social institution from education to law
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the to religion. Clearly there arc many ways
University of Chicago. He has served as the in which language serves to knit us
Chair of the Psychology Department since 1997.
together both formally and informally.
He has served as the editor for the International
For a linguist, all of these uses can be
Journal of Speech Technology and is on the
editorial board of Brain & Language. and has analyzed in terms of the structure of
edited several books on spoken language sentences and their content. However,
processing. His research interests include structure and content do not, on their
spoken language use, mechanisms of learning
own merits, provide a complete picture
and attention, and the role of sleep in learning.
of how language can have the impact it
His recent research has investigated the social
use of language and the evolution of language. does on our sense of social connection.
In addition, he has been working on neural How does language move us to act,
mechanisms of reward and economic decisions. change our feelings, and connect us to
We often think about language in terms
others? It seems unlikely that the impact
of the information in newspapers or speeches or
of language is simply the result of
reports. However, language is basis of all our
social relationships and institutions. We reward dispassionate rational inferences and
and praise with language and we shun and conclusions drawn from a logical
punish with language, perhaps more often than
analysis of sentences.
with any other medium. In the recent election,
Democratic candidates actually gave speeches In 1976, Barbara Jordan, a
outlining different views of the importance of Congresswoman from Texas, gave the
language in our society. One candidate held that
commencement address at Brandeis
words are simply words and only have the force
University. Listening to her speak about
that we give to them by reasoning about them.
The other candidate argued that speech has the the importance of public service and the
power to move people to connect and act. importance of using talent and ability in
Nusbaum was struck by this debate because it service of one's country was an
seems to him that the power of language goes
impressive experience. Her delivery was
well beyond what linguists and psychologists
clear and not particularly dramatic and
talk about as "meaning" and that understanding
the meaning of language may depend on yet the force of her speech was riveting.
understanding the social and emotional impact of It was sufficient to turn a graduating
language. In this chapter, the idea of the impact senior's mind from graduate school in
of language at a distance is explored.
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psychology to (at least momentary) congregation, to wrench them from
consideration of a career in government complacency with images of torment. A
service. A student with the long-held sermon delivers a message, but it can do
intent of becoming a researcher and with so in calm tones of instruction or with
no interest in politics, government, or fire and brimstone. The choice and
public service might seem to be an poetry of words and the cadence and
immovable object. And yet, in that intonation of speaking can draw the
moment, Jordan's speech had sufficient listener in slowly or seize the listener
impact to make government service suddenly, the very sounds of speech
seem like the only path one would want painting images in the mind while
to take or should ever consider. igniting new inferences with literal and
metaphoric descriptions.
Although her points were argued
well, the impact of Jordan's speech was In the realm of the spiritual, there
not simply rhetorical. John F. are few corporeal manifestations that can
Kennedy's "Ask not what your country be perceived directly. Neither heaven
can do for you...." and Martin Luther nor hell, neither God nor the Devil can
King, Jr.'s "I have a dream...." affected be seen or heard or touched. Preaching
listeners deeply well beyond the is needed to spell out the work of unseen
cognitive strengths of a good argument. hands and will and illuminate the power
Moreover, while all these speeches were of the unseen. The force of that which is
delivered beautifully and from the heart, not seen can only be felt when
it is not the performance of these transmitted directly through speech.
speeches alone that can move listeners to
In Phaedrus, Plato described
act on behalf of others. The
rhetoric as the art of leading the soul.
performance alone cannot give substance
Thus it is not surprising that, while at the
to an empty message. While there are
core of religion is a collection of beliefs
cases in which a great performance may
and concepts and canons, the fabric and
suggest briefly that there was content of
form of religion is language. Symbols
import even in the absence of a real
and icons are certainly important, but
message, it is more likely the
language is the medium through which
conjunction of message and delivery that
the force of theology is actualized in
moves people. In these speeches is a
prayers, benedictions, sermons, and
clear demonstration of the power of
teaching. Language can reach across
language. Language is more than words
time and space to change minds,
and more than delivery. Indeed, Cicero,
feelings, and behavior, encoding laws
in De Oratore, said that rhetoric conveys
and beliefs and presenting them with a
information, persuades listeners, and
concrete reality in the here and now.
evokes emotion.
This is one kind of impact from author to
"In the beginning was the word...." audience in which a kind of connection
is constructed bridging minds.
If "the word made flesh" is taken
metaphorically, the power of language At the same time, in religious
can be made visceral in sermons. practices, another kind of connection is
Consider the power of Jonathan formed within a congregation. Joint
Edwards' sermon, which Clark Gilpin's recitation, responsive reading, collective
chapter discusses, to terrify a listening, and understanding may serve
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to connect people in a religious service. linguists, the emphasis is on the
Although joint participation in any event information contained within an
(such as sports or theatre) may have utterance and the structure and form by
some of the same effect as discussed by which this information is presented.
Gfin Semin, the content of language and Research questions often focus on the
the intent of the messages in religious variety of ways the same message can be
practice is often focused on developing framed and how listeners interpret such
and strengthening social and spiritual messages. But little of this work
connections. addresses the impact of the message
itself.
Everyone knows someone who
moved to another country, or to another The standard view of language
part of their own country where speech processing is that we hear the sounds of
patterns differ. After a period of time, in speech (acoustic patterns) that we
the context of novel speech patterns, translate mentally into words. The
some people adopt the speech patterns meanings of these words are determined
around them. This kind of linguistic and then the meanings combined
convergence is well documented and is (through our knowledge of sentence
moderated by social factors such as the structure) to result in sentence meaning.
desire to be accepted or the attempt to be Given that a sentence typically occurs in
persuasive.1 When people talk together, a context of other sentences (e.g., a
one person's speech can impact the way sermon) or in response to other speech
another person talks in order to promote (e.g., a conversation), this context is then
social connection. Indeed, the same kind used to frame and reinterpret the
of behavioral convergence is found over sentence meaning.
the course of conversations for other
Metaphor, irony, sarcasm, and
kinds of non-linguistic actions as well. 2
other figures are generally thought of as
Information, impact, and being understood later in this process
understanding although in Gilpin's chapter the
immediate power of these to affect us is
How does language bind us
quite clear. Emotion and attitudes are
together and compel us to action,
thought of as not understood until after
thought, and feeling? When we talk,
the linguistic message has been
sound vibration is transmitted from
determined. The impact of language on
mouth to ears. Facial expressions and
attitudes through persuasion is viewed
manual gestures punctuate, illustrate,
by cognitive psychology and linguistics
and illuminate our speech. These
as occurring after the message has been
acoustic and visual signals travel over
understood. However, this does raise the
space and time to the eyes and ears of
question about whether a "message" (to
the audience. The impact of such
be understood) is simply the linguistic
communication is true action at a
properties of a sentence or the impact of
distance.
the linguistic form on an audience.
This notion of language as action
A very different view of
at a distance is relatively well accepted
language might come from considering
in the scientific study of language. But
vocal communications that often have a
in research on language and
direct impact on an audience.
communication by psycholinguists and
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Sometimes just listening to laughter Edwards to the passionate speeches of
compels listeners to laugh. Sometimes Obama and Kennedy and King.
hearing a cry of terror directly imputes
In listening to speech that has
an instantaneous feeling of fear.
impact, language has created a state in
Hearing someone weep can produce a
the listener that reflects the intention of
feeling of sorrow and perhaps even
the speaker. Whether it is fear or
cause one to cry. This suggests that
connection, somehow language can
some forms of vocal communication can
operate as the medium by which social
elicit direct empathic sharing as Decety
and emotional psychological states get
discusses in his chapter.
transmitted to an audience. But how
These forms of vocal does this impact get created in the social
communication can produce direct brain?
results in listeners without following a
Language impact in the social brain
route of symbolic reference and
interpretation.3 Language has typically Understanding spoken language
been viewed as operating by the more has typically been viewed as an analytic
symbolic route because of the linguistic process in which sound patterns are
claim that symbols are not the things translated into linguistic symbols by the
they stand for and thus must be brain. However, an alternative theory is
understood—words and sentences are that we understand spoken language by
not felt. However, the right insult or using our motor system to simulate what
angry words delivered in the right way might have been said. The idea is that
or the right praise seems to be felt trying to mentally produce the speech
directly, perhaps through the same kind internally (without talking) might help
of mechanisms by which empathic us understand what is said, when speech
sharing occurs. is not clear. However, this theory did
not have much neural plausibility.
But how is this achieved? This
People do not generally move their
kind of impact of language is not a result
mouths overtly or even covertly while
of understanding the content of speech.
listening.
It reflects social goals and motives. To
the extent that this kind of social impact The discovery of mirror neurons,
may parallel empathic processes, we examined at greater length by Steve
might find that similar mechanisms are Small in the next chapter, suggested one
involved. Some kind of resonance must kind of mechanism that might instantiate
be established between a speaker and this kind of process. In certain parts of
hearer, and language can serve to the brain, involved in the control of
establish this resonance and lead to action, some neurons that respond when
subsequent action by the hearer. This making certain actions also respond
idea of a resonance in an audience does when observing the same actions. This
seem more compatible with the effects led to the inference that these neurons
of vocal behavior such as laughter or are involved in understanding the
crying on a listener than the symbolic behavior of other people. The reasoning
interpretative view. This notion of is simply that neural activity in the
resonance may also be useful in observer's motor system that results
understanding other kinds of language when seeing a behavior essentially
impact from the fiery sermon of establishes the brain state that would
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correspond if the observer were doing description. Understanding language
the same thing. Another way to say this may take place by invoking such
is that there is a resonant response in an resonant past experiences in the brain.
observer's motor system to observing a
For example, when listening to
behavior and this may potentiate a
sentences about hockey action, hockey
degree of social coordination and
players show neural activity in their
connection, as discussed in Semin's
motor system which is not seen for
chapter. This kind of neural resonance
people who are naïve to hockey.'
has been shown to play a role in
Experience playing hockey recruits the
understanding speech when seeing a
motor system in service of
talker's mouth move, even if the listener
understanding hockey sentences as if
does not actually make any mouth
one were watching or playing hockey
movements.
when only listening to speech. This
Mirror neurons demonstrate that suggests one way in which language can
observed action can produce a resonant have a direct impact on a listener.
response in an observer's brain. Seeing Rather than making inferences about
a talker's mouth move creates a motor- actions based on the meanings of
resonant response that aids in sentences, understanding a sentence may
understanding speech sounds. However, be a resonant motor system response in
these two observations are very different the listener to a description of an action.
from the idea that the meaning of If this idea is extended more broadly,
sentences can create a resonant response language impact may come from such
in the listener's brain. In the case of resonant responses. Language
speech, mouth movements are the understanding and the impact of
actions that create speech. This might language may result from processes
seem like a very special case. The more similar to the effects of hearing
traditional linguistic view of language is laughter. Hearing a sentence may create
that words and sentences are symbolic: in a listener a set of resonant responses
Language describing action is not action very similar to the patterns that
itself. Language describing emotion is correspond to the actual situations being
not the emotion itself. The entire described.
concept of a symbol is that a symbol
Such resonant responses need not
denotes something, stands for
be confined to the motor system and
something, but the symbol is not the
actions. Emotions such as fear or joy
thing itself. But it now appears that this
may be empathically evoked in listeners
long-held notion may be wrong.
by speech just as a scream or laughter
The idea that seeing an object or might. Verbal expression of attitudes
event gives rise to brain states that may produce similar attitudinal
resonate with previous experiences of responses in listeners. Moreover, if a
that thing suggests a mechanism for listener's resonant response is strong,
language understanding to go beyond there may be increased empathic overlap
symbolic interpretation. Given that there with the speaker, which may serve to
is a brain mechanism for re-experiencing increase social connection. To the
actions or sensations, this same extent that people speak together and
mechanism may operate even when share feelings, social connection may
there is just a symbolic linguistic increase as well.
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Evolution of social connection by symbols ultimately leading in the
communication direction of a sign language.
The human social brain However, this kind of manual
constructs connection and understanding language has one major drawback.
by anthropomorphic projection as Communication depends on visual
discussed by Nick Epley in his chapter. contact. In order to understand a
When we observe the behavior of gestural message it is necessary to see
nonhuman entities, anthropomorphic the hand movements. This limits the
projection may form a feeling of social distances over which communication can
connection. Social connection depends take place. Moreover, a communication
in part on empathic responses to system that is effective for a group
observed action. It has been argued that should not depend on face-to-face
this same foundation is the basis for the dyadic interaction, but allow for more
evolution of language as well--observed broadcast communications. There is a
action may be the foundation for great survival advantage in being able to
language. maintain social connection and convey
information over distances that go well
A mirror neuron theory of the
beyond face-to-face communication.
evolution of language starts with the
assumption that we understand others by Many species of fish,
observing their actions. Communication amphibians, reptiles, birds, and
depends on the regularization of typical mammals commonly exchange
actions that can be pantomimed. In information at a distance through
principle this could lead to a kind of vocalizations. The learned songs (and
manual gestural system of some calls) of songbirds are particularly
communication akin to sign language. rich sources of information conveying,
Hand and arm movements can depict a to the receiver, individual identity and a
wide range of actions both by first- host of other characteristics of the
person depiction of an action such as sender. Some mammals exchange
screwing the top onto a jar and by third- information at great distances through
person depictions such as using the calling behavior. Humpback whale
fingers to portray a person walking. vocalizations are perceived over
Hand and arm postures can depict extremely long distances and may be
objects such as a cupped hand used to maintain social groups at
representing a bowl. Combining distances as great as 5 km. African
sequences of such object and action elephants can recognize friends and
depictions can communicate relatively relatives from their calls at a distance of
complex messages even without a 2.5 km. Human sheepherders keep each
formal language. This is a far cry from other company from the top of one
sign languages in which the mapping mountain to another in the Canary
between hand shapes and movements is Islands using a whistled language called
not visually transparent in this way. But Silbo Gomero. Whether for purposes of
as the pressure to communicate a mating, threat, warning, or social
broader range of messages increases, a organization, conveying information
manual gestural language would have to regarding location, identity and
be modified to reflect more abstract motivation, and directed at one
individual or towards far-flung groups,
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vocal communication plays an important even when we have strong empathic
role in the social connection and responses, we can distinguish such
behavior of a great number of vertebrate created experiences from those that
species. Thus while human vocal occur in the real world. The stronger the
communication is enhanced substantially language, the richer the imagery, the
in face-to-face interaction, the evolution more intense the delivery, the more
of speech has resulted in a system that salient the mentally created experience.
can function even in the absence of One impact of language may be to create
direct visual observation. The sound of real feelings and sensations, imagined
a threat or warning or distress can have movement and behavior.? When
substantial impact even at a distance language hurts us through criticism,
from the speaker. rejection or insult, it may do so by
activating our experiences of real pain.
Social impact and embodied language
When we are soothed by language, it
Many animals use vocalizations may produce the same kind of endorphin
to maintain social group structure and to effect that placebo treatments can
provide information relevant to a group. invoke. When language binds us
Even very young children use the way together, it may do so by creating the
people speak as a marker of their social kind of shared emotional states that
affiliation.6 Such vocalizations are characterize empathy.
typically not viewed as symbolic forms
In many respects, the linguistic
that must be decoded and interpreted.
view of language use does not engage
Instead these vocalizations are mapped
these ways in which language functions.
onto internal states more directly, much
Linguistics treats language as consisting
as human laughter may be. Although
of patterns of symbols divorced from
linguists and psychologists have often
their origins in a human mouth, almost
tried to differentiate human language
like print on a page rather than speech.
from these kinds of vocalizations,
But it is spoken language that the social
language can impact us in much the
brain evolved to use—print is a very
same way. Perhaps language is less
modern invention which did not play any
symbolic and more direct than scientists
role in our evolution. In contrast, speech
have thought.
is produced from a coordinate action of
What does it mean for language muscles compressing lungs and moving
to have impact? If we take laughter as tongue and jaw under the control of
our model, perhaps it means that neurophysiology and hormones. Unlike
language gives rise to responses that the shape of printed letters, the sound of
have a direct effect on our perceptual speech is shaped by attitude and emotion
and motor systems. Sermons may terrify and intent, and its impact may be to
because they create worlds inside of the transfer specific embodied states from
listener that seem real. We can see and the speaker to the listener.
hear torment and imagine the feelings of
Conclusion
pain and suffering. This is not a
symbolic interpretation but a real Although physicists have debated
experience created from language. the possibility of action at a distance for
However, just as we can distinguish the quite some time, the biological form of
pain we feel from the pain of others, action at a distance is well established,
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achieved through vocal communication 6. Kinzler, K. D., Shutts, K.,
in an extremely broad range of behaviors Dejesus, J., & Spelke, E. S. (2009).
and settings. The force of language is Accent trumps race in guiding children's
carried by the form, content, and social preferences. Social Cognition, 27,
delivery of a message. And the impact 623-634.
of this force may be created in the minds
7. Shintel, H., & Nusbaum, H.
of an audience by the resonant
C. (2007). The sound of motion in
invocation of past real experiences. Real
spoken language: Visual information
pain and sorrow, real comfort and joy,
conveyed by acoustic properties of
real love and caring, are all part of our
speech. Cognition, 105, 681-690.
shared human experience. The impact
of language may come by invoking
resonant past experiences that can create
a platonic mental moment that flickers
with the shadows of those experiences.
In order to understand how this process
works, we need to study how brain
mechanisms operate to translate the
sounds of speech into the impact of
language.
References
1. Giles, H. (1973). Accent
mobility: A model and some data.
Anthropological Linguistics, 15, 87-105.
2. Lakin, J., & Chartrand, T.L.
(2003). Using nonconscious behavioral
mimicry to create affiliation and rapport.
Psychological Science, 14, 334-339.
3. Foroni, F. & Semin, G. R.
(2009). Language that puts you in touch
with your bodily feelings. The
multimodal responsiveness of affective
expressions. Psychological Science, 20,
974-980.
4. Beilock, S. L., Lyons, 1. M.,
Mattarella-Micke, A., Nusbaum, H. C.,
& Small, S. L. (2008). Sports experience
changes the neural processing of action
language. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 105, 13269-13272.
5. Rizzolatti, G., & Arbib, M.A.
(1999). Language within our grasp.
Trends in Neurosciences, 21, 188-194.
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as a result of the resonance. in the next
Systems and Signals for Social
essay, Steve Small discusses these neural
Coordination
mechanisms and how they may be
How do we understand each other important in helping us understand
as people? Do we take people at their spoken language and possibly in
word, or do actions speak even louder? understanding social behavior.
When moved to affiliate and to act in
concert with other people as a group, we
need to understand the communications
and actions of others. Language can
move us to action even across great
distances but how does it do so? While
we can observe the behavior of groups
of people as coordinated, the mechanism
of achieving this coordination is unseen.
We may be driven socially to form
groups but how does that drive function
in the individual to cause us to cohere.
In order to go beyond the observation
and experiences we have with groups
and group behavior, we need to
understand what makes the engine of
social connection run. At one level, we
can talk about language as a force itself,
as Howard Nusbaum does. We can talk
about the synchronization of individual
behavior as Giin Semin does. However,
both of these arc observations about the
way individuals may become part of a
group. To go beyond this we must look
to our biology to understand how the
machinery underneath our sociality leads
to connected minds.
Semin suggested one way our
brains may seek to connect. Some
neurons in an area of the brain that is
involved in the control and planning of
our actions also respond when we
observe actions we have performed.
Such neurons might be thought to
"resonate" when seeing someone act or
speak with our own experiences.
Neurons that mirror actions and behavior
have been thought to play a role in the
process of understanding that behavior
and the social connection that may form
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v
v
a+ 7.04well 4
is 1-. • Hidden Forces in Understanding
— v aa 2 a i 1 n - x 7 .:. i . - g .- t 4 r i i . s t m w ta ai - t n - o K o . n s u ' k - e. = C t1 r. a . r yk . a , il . 1 . l . i .r T 1 T iL, H h 1t7 o -0 b p4 s . -0 f e l 7 a r . v — in g Others:
ilszt r "":.:Zt li Mirror Neurons and Neurobiological
mritdee ctiari sdifi eg '-w aYL Underpinnings
n'iL-7 anan. 6 arm:7hr -4 ° -) 24 acntiavvit y
It is one thing to perceive objects
-9.attirlitila ra r- Ad C)% 1-
E
-h- -r—othenneurons in the environment and another to
understand what is perceived. A rodent
Chapter 88 that senses an apple definitely has a
notion that this represents something
edible. A monkey might realize that the
°The lead author is Steven L. Small. M.D.,
Ph.D., a Professor of Neurology and Psychology, apple can be eaten but also can be
Associate Chair for Research in Neurology, thrown. A human might perceive it as a
Member of the Committees on Neurobiology and
food, an object to be propelled, a
Computational Neuroscience, and Senior Fellow,
temptation that should be resisted, or
Computation Institute, at The University of
something that falls out of a tree at a
Chicago. Ile is currently Director of the Human
Neuroscience Laboratory and was founder of the specific acceleration. For each individual
Brain Research Imaging Center. He is an elected animal or person, understanding an apple
member of the American Neurological
means to take the sensory perceptions of
Association, a fellow of the American Academy
the apple and to use previous experience
of Neurology, and Editor-in-Chief of the
and knowledge to fit it into an overall
international journal Brain and Language.
Small's research concerns the neural basis of context. In this way, understanding a
human language and its breakdown after injury. particular apple depends on our
lie has published more than 120 scientific
previously having seen, touched, and
articles, primarily about human language, from
smelled apples, eaten them, read about
the perspectives of artificial intelligence,
them, and perhaps even been hit by a
cognitive psychology, computational
neuroscience. human systems neuroscience, and falling or thrown apple. All of our
clinical neurology. previous experiences come to bear every
I luman language represents a unique
time we encounter a new perception that
product of our social species and the tremendous
we must make sense of, and of course,
evolution of the primate cerebral cortex
this represents virtually every moment of
simultaneously supported the development of
both. Language is the defining feature of our our waking lives.
species: In his 126' century volume, Guide to the
Our perceptions vary enormously
Perplexed, Maimonides viewed it as tautological
that man is a speaking animal, i.e., "there is no from seeing simple objects (e.g., apples),
third element besides life and speech in the taking in more complex entities (e.g.,
definition of man". But how does the brain restaurants, neighborhoods), hearing
implement this unique function in the context of
noises or speech, and seeing actions
its common ontogeny with social function? The
(e.g., simple manual actions, sporting
current essay discusses the possibility that the
recently discovered "mirror neurons" of the events). A major question for brain
cerebral cortex of macaque monkeys play a research is how we can possibly
special role in the ability of humans to understand all these different kinds of
understand each other with language by using a
input, and what brain circuits are used to
mechanism of observation and covert emulation.
do so. We assume that such an
If the neurobiology of language were partly
grounded on such systems of visual observation understanding means taking these inputs,
and imitation, this would overlap integrally with weighing them against our previous
the biology of the social brain.
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experiences in some way or other, and by feeling the emotion, I can understand
then integrating in some way the new it. The closer my previous experience is
and old together. This integration to the perceived one, the better the
requires constant and dynamic changes "understanding". This principle holds
to the brain structures that represent whether one is trying to understand
what we know and how we use it. I One objects or people. An important
way this could happen is that when we distinction between people and objects
perceive something new, we actually re- when trying to understand their actions
enact in our mind's eye the previous is that people, but not objects, have
related perceptions. For example, if we intentions.
encounter an apple — having encountered
The Social Brain
many previously — perhaps we actually
imagine (seeing) one or more previous The critical question for
apples or episodes involving apples, or neurobiologists is how does the brain
imagine (performing) one or more understand. In particular, we want to
instances of biting an apple or throwing know whether the same brain circuits
one, and/or imagine tasting and smelling that are used when we experience things
one. We might also imagine hearing the personally are also used when we try to
word "apple", producing the sounds of understand another person having the
the word, seeing the written form of the same experiences, whether these
word, or even hearing, seeing, or experiences are concrete, like grasping a
producing synonyms or related words in cup or hitting a baseball, or more
our first (e.g., "Granny Smith") or abstract like feeling sad or fearful or in
second (e.g., "pommel languages. We pain. We also want to know whether
propose that understanding an apple is understanding the simple concrete
tantamount to executing this entire set of perceptions and these highly complex
processes, and thus, that the circuits for emotional states are mediated similarly
understanding are very complicated and in the brain. Further, we are interested in
take up a large portion of the brain. the overlap between conscious and
unconscious understanding and shared or
Of course, not all of what we
personal understanding. One way to
understand is directly available to the
address these questions is to examine the
senses; we can clearly understand beliefs
brain structures responsible for specific
and emotions as well as physical objects
types of personal sensations, actions, and
and overt actions. Brain researchers
cognitive processes, and to see if these
generally take the view that previous
same ones play a role when individuals
experience guides understanding of
attempt to understand these functions in
abstract concepts in much the same way
others. Using modem techniques of
that it guides the understanding of the
physiology, experiments of this type
more concrete entities. For example, we
have been conducted in both monkeys
can understand the emotional states of
and humans, with some surprising
other people by imagining being in those
results.
states ourselves. When I see someone
feeling happy or sad. I can evoke It is now possible to measure
examples from my own previous brain activity of humans while having a
experience of feeling happy or sad wide range of different kinds of
(perhaps even for the same reasons), and experiences. Such human neuroimaging
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experiments have suggested that Trinidad, who had played soccer his
understanding actions and objects invoke whole life. The instructions he gave the
some of the same brain structures used kids were quite different: "Follow me
to perform the actions and to act on the and do what I do". There were no
objects. With respect to actions in suggested foot flexions or extensions,
particular, humans sometimes use their and no specific leg movements
own motor repertoire in interpreting proposed. The kids learned the skills,
actions, possibly by imagining or and won all their games. Why? The kids
mentally simulating the perceived learned by observing a good model and
action. When people arc asked to then imitating what they observed the
observe the actions of others, person doing, which appears to be a way
particularly goal-directed actions to learn motor skills that is far stronger
involving the hands or mouth, they seem than that of explicit motor instruction.
to activate brain regions for moving the
When people have strokes, a part
hands or mouth. Thus, there is a link
of their brain dies, and they can lose the
between observing actions and executing
ability to speak or use a hand properly.
actions. This has a relevance to
We arc now using this idea of imitation
education as well: "Understanding by
in a treatment program to re-educate
doing" (i.e., by observing and then
people with strokes to use their hands
executing) has a long and valued
better and to pronounce words better.
tradition in American education-, and
For these imitation-based treatments,
these recent scientific results might help
people first observe a particular hand
us understand why this is effective.
action or speech sample on a video
When my son was 5 years old, he monitor, and then they try to produce it.
was a member of a kids' soccer team in In fact, they observe it over and over
Hyde Park, on the campus of the again for a while before they even try to
University of Chicago. His coach was a do it at all. They are never told how to
professor of history at the university, a move their hands or mouths; they are
woman who had never played soccer, just told to copy what they see. Over the
but was a voracious reader, and in her course of six weeks, people with hand
readings on the subject, took careful note problems progress from imitating a
of all the methods needed to play soccer simple grasp of a cup to picking up a
as well as the rules and regulations. She telephone and dialing a number to
methodically took the kids through all picking up a toothbrush, brushing their
the (theoretically relevant motor) steps teeth, and returning the brush to the sink.
needed to dribble the ball, to pass, and to Those with speech problems progress
shoot — flex your foot this way, bend from imitating simple words of a single
your leg that way, keep your arms this syllable to longer less common words
way, etc. The kids tried to follow the and even short phrases. We have already
verbal instructions but their motor shown that these therapies have
performance was less than stellar — they beneficial effects in a number of people
learned a little bit, but they lost all of and are now trying it out more
their dozen games, for a depressing 0-12 extensively.
record. The next season, the same team
There seems to be an important
was coached by another volunteer
link between observing and executing
parent, this time an engineer from
actions. Similarly, there is a link
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between observing action and brain known to coordinate movements.
understanding emotion. This link has These recording machines note brain
been most clearly demonstrated in the activity both visually, as a graph on a
case of facial expressions — if I observe screen, and auditorily, by a loud series of
the muscles of the face in a position to clicks, indicating the firing of a neuron.
convey an emotional state, clearly I Rizzolatti and his team were focusing on
perceive the emotion. What has been a particular region in the front of the
shown recently is that observing such brain, and were having the monkey
facial expressions leads to two kinds of perform all sorts of hand, mouth, and
brain activations in the observer: The eye movements to see how the brain
first set of regions activated are those cells were organized to make these
that would be used by the observer to movements happen. One day (or so the
execute the identical face movements, story goes), one of the researchers
just as with hand or mouth movements. returned from lunch while the electrical
However, additional regions arc also recordings were being made, and was
active, and these are precisely the ones finishing off a cone of superb Italian
that would be involved if the observer gelato, when all of a sudden the
were to feel the observed emotion recording device starting making a loud
personally. Thus the circuitry for action series of clicks. The returning scientist
observation in the human brain is stopped licking his ice cream cone to see
interdependent with parts of the brain what was going on, and the noise
critical for understanding more complex stopped. When he restarted licking his
nuanced aspects of the world. gelato, the clicks resumed, and when he
stopped again, they stopped. The
Mirror Neurons
investigators had discovered a type of
It turns out that there may be neuron that was sensitive to the monkey
cellular building blocks in the brain that observing a particular human action.
are particularly important for observing
It was not surprising that
and executing actions, and may
following training to perform an action,
ultimately lead to an explanation of
some neurons in the motor region of the
action understanding and imitation-
brain responded while performing that
based learning. In fact, such structures
action, when the same neurons would
would contribute to any form of
not have responded beforehand.
understanding that could be partly
However, it was extremely surprising to
explained by imagined re-enactment of
find that some of those neurons also
perceived actions (e.g., seeing an
responded vigorously when the monkey
emotional facial expression, hearing a
observed the very same learned actions.
cry of pain). The cells under discussion
Through a methodical and systematic
are a type of nerve cell, or neuron,
approach, this group was able to make a
discovered in the front part of the
more elaborate and far-reaching set of
monkey brain by Professor Giacomo
observations. For a small subset of
Rizzolatti and his colleagues at the
neurons, if a monkey had learned to
University of Parma. The scientists
reach for a particular object, seeing
trained monkeys to perform specific
another monkey reach for the same
actions like grasping an object or licking
object would cause the neuron to fire.
their lips, and were performing electrical
For a different subset of neurons, if the
recordings in regions in the front of the
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monkey had learned to pucker up his attribute our past experience as the
lips, the neuron would fire both when the interpretation of the present observation.
monkey did this or when the monkey Imitation when observing an action
observed another monkey (or even a might occur because our motor system is
human) doing this. These motor neurons stimulated by observing an action.
have been dubbed "mirror neurons", Coordination of action could occur
since they respond during both execution because in representing others' actions
of action and during observation of the as if they were our own, our brains may
same action in a mirror-like fashion? be able to compute the time when we
Mirror neurons are not active during can act without disrupting the other
observation of an appropriate action if person. This is just the kind of process
there is no goal (i.e., the object is absent) that is described in Gun Semin's chapter
or when an appropriate object is when he describes how groups of people
presented alone. Mirror neurons have can synchronize their actions like
been discovered both for mouth actions clapping together.
and hand actions, and for both visual and
From monkey brains to human
auditory perception of actions.
intention
Seeing a previously learned
Of course, relating responses in
action performed by someone else seems
monkey brains to human brains is
to resonate in some neurons in the motor
neither direct nor simple. Parts of the
system almost as if the action were being
monkey brain and and parts of the
performed by the observer. It is as if the
human brain that putatively correspond,
observed action stimulates some motor
while similar, are not identical in
neurons to "remember" what it was like
number or size or location, and probably
to perform action. Of course, this is not
do not do exactly the same things, since
memory in the overt sense of conscious
monkeys and humans have evolved to
recollection, but rather that the
have somewhat different capacities and
experience of execution changes the
behaviors. Furthermore, the study of
response of the neurons to observation.
mirror neurons in monkeys is based on
Not all the motor neurons respond this
recording the responses of individual
way but a small number have been
neurons, which is not generally possible
shown to respond when performing and
in humans except in rare cases of
observing an action. Such mirror
medical necessity. The measures we can
neurons could provide a correspondence
make on intact human brains come from
between the experience one has of
the responses of many thousands of
performing an action and seeing the
neurons, so it is difficult to make claims
same action performed by others.
about neurons that respond in producing
These mirror neurons might an action and perceiving the same
provide one basis for understanding action. This means that any claims about
action. Relating actions we observe to human mirror neurons depend on a
actions we have carried out seems like degree of good faith and inference rather
an important component for than specific empirical demonstration
comprehension. After all, we knew what that individual neurons respond both to
we were doing when we performed an observing and executing action.
action. If that experience is somehow
reinstated during observation we might
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Researchers have measured the sight of the action with the object
human brain responses using a variety of present show different patterns of brain
methods such as functional magnetic response. The fact that such different
resonance imaging (fMRI), which visual experiences lead to different
demonstrate reliable effects of changes patterns of brain activity does not
in neural activity by changes in blood provide clear evidence that intentions or
flow. Although slower to respond than goals are somehow part of the mirror
measures of electrical activity, fMRI neuron response to observed action.
provides evidence about where neural
Understanding spoken language as
activity in the human brain occurs. This
action understanding
kind of research does show that
observing action produces activity in The potential ambiguity of action
areas of the human brain more typically is perhaps clearest if we consider
associated with executing action. While language. Talking is a form of action and
there may be some disagreement about understanding speech might be a form of
which motor areas of the human brain action understanding. In talking, mouth
are active while observing or imitating movements are made in such a way as to
action and how these would correspond create sounds that will have some affect
to areas in the monkey brain, there is on the listener, as discussed in Howard
good agreement that the human motor Nusbaum's chapter. Listeners must
system responds for observation and understand what was meant by making
imitation of action. ° those sounds. However, if someone says,
"It's hot in here," or "You are a great
There is quite a difference
friend," there can be ambiguity about the
between recognizing an action and
meaning. Such sentences could be
understanding that action. We can see a
straightforward observations as they
hand move through space with an open
seem to be or they could be something
palm oriented with the flat of the palm
very different. We can ask to have a
moving toward the surface of an object
window opened or we can make a
and predict where the hand will strike
negative social comment using exactly
the object and that it will apply force to
the same sentences.
the surface of that object. But
understanding the same general action as Nonetheless, there is good reason
pushing a door open with the intent to to believe that the human action system
enter and slapping a person in the face is is involved in understanding speech as
quite different. A ball can be thrown in a well as producing it. While some
game of catch or as a missile intended to ambiguities in speech or behavior simply
do harm. The actions may be similar but cannot be resolved without broader
the intentions are different. Therefore it contextual knowledge, the motor system
is important that some researchers have may be important in understanding. If
argued that mirror neurons respond to you try to have a conversation in a noisy
the intention as well as the action? bar, looking at your friend talking makes
However, to date there has been no clear it easier to understand what is being said.
evidence that such neurons respond to We have shown that the motor system
intention -- just that the sight of the contributes to this process of recognizing
action of reaching without an object to speech. When listeners can see
grasp, the sight of the object alone, and someone's face while talking, mouth
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