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Language and Communication

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Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Psychology

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Psychology ((EVOLPSYCH))

Abstract

Communication, and particularly linguistic communication, is a central component of human social life. There is a great deal of research on the origins and evolution of human communication and language, but less on how an evolutionary perspective can inform research on the social cognition and other proximate mechanisms involved in language and communication. In this chapter, I outline what an evolutionary perspective can tell us about these topics. In particular, I discuss: (1) how human communication is ultimately a matter of mutually assisted mind reading and mental manipulation, (2) what proximate mechanisms can explain why languages are structured in the way they are, (3) evidence that human communicative behavior is adaptive, and (4) both proximate and ultimate explanations of the evolutionary stability of human communication.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Philosophy, & Language Sciences, Durham University, 3 Charles Street, EH8 9AD, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Thomas C. Scott-Phillips Ph.D.

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  1. Thomas C. Scott-Phillips Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Thomas C. Scott-Phillips Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Lisa L. M. Welling

  3. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Scott-Phillips, T. (2015). Language and Communication. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Welling, L., Shackelford, T. (eds) Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Psychology. Evolutionary Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12697-5_22

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