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Unlock This CourseOne of the most fascinating aspects of communication is the ability to discuss events that haven't happened yet. Humans do this constantly we make plans for the weekend, prepare for exams months in advance and even save for retirement decades away. But can animals do this too? In this section, we'll explore how humans and animals communicate about future events and what this tells us about cognition.
Key Definitions:
Humans have developed complex language systems that allow us to discuss events that haven't happened yet. We can make detailed plans, discuss hypothetical scenarios and coordinate future activities with others. Our language includes tenses (past, present, future) and conditional forms ("If X happens, then Y will occur") that help us communicate about different time periods.
For many years, scientists believed that animals lived entirely in the present, unable to plan for or communicate about future events. Recent research has challenged this view, showing that some animals demonstrate behaviours suggesting they can anticipate future needs and even communicate about them in limited ways.
Humans are masters at communicating about future events. This ability develops gradually in children and becomes increasingly sophisticated throughout life.
Children begin to understand future concepts around age 2-3, when they start using future tense in speech. By age 4-5, they can discuss plans for tomorrow and by adolescence, they can make complex long-term plans. This development parallels brain maturation, particularly in the prefrontal cortex the brain region associated with planning and executive function.
Basic future references ("I go park tomorrow")
Limited understanding of time
More complex future planning
Understanding of days, weeks, months
Ability to delay gratification
Abstract future thinking
Long-term planning
Understanding of hypothetical scenarios
How we communicate about the future varies across cultures. Some languages, like English, have specific future tenses. Others, like Mandarin Chinese, don't mark future tense grammatically but use context and time markers instead. Research suggests these linguistic differences might influence how people think about and plan for the future.
Keith Chen (2013) found that speakers of languages without distinct future tenses (like Finnish or Mandarin) were more likely to save money, exercise regularly and avoid smoking compared to speakers of languages with strong future tenses (like English). He suggested this might be because these languages make the future feel closer to the present. While controversial, this study highlights how language might shape our thinking about the future.
Do animals communicate about future events? The evidence suggests some species have limited abilities to do so.
Some of the strongest evidence for animal future planning comes from studies of western scrub jays. These birds can cache (hide) food for future use, remembering what they stored, where and when. Remarkably, they even plan for specific future needs. In one study by Raby et al. (2007), jays were given the opportunity to store food in two compartments. Later, they learned they would only have access to one compartment when hungry. The birds preferentially stored food in the compartment they knew they would have access to, suggesting they anticipated their future needs.
Great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans) have demonstrated future planning abilities. For example, Osvath and Osvath (2008) found that chimpanzees and orangutans could select and save tools they would need for a future task, even when the tool had no immediate use. While they don't have language to discuss future plans like humans do, their behaviour suggests they can mentally represent future scenarios and prepare accordingly.
While some animals show impressive future planning abilities, there are key differences from human capabilities:
At Furuvik Zoo in Sweden, a chimpanzee named Santino became famous for planning attacks on zoo visitors. He would collect stones in the morning when the zoo was empty, hide them in piles or caches and then use them later to throw at visitors when they arrived. When zookeepers removed his stone piles, he began hiding the stones in more creative ways and even started making concrete discs to throw. This behaviour demonstrates impressive future planning Santino prepared for an event (visitors arriving) that would happen hours later. (Osvath, 2009)
The key differences between human and animal future planning communication can be summarised as follows:
From an evolutionary standpoint, the ability to plan for the future provides clear survival advantages. Animals that can anticipate future needs (like food shortages) have better chances of survival. Humans have taken this ability to an extreme, developing complex language systems that allow us to share our plans with others and coordinate group activities far into the future.
The difference between human and animal future planning abilities likely reflects our different ecological niches and social structures. Humans evolved as highly social creatures dependent on cooperation, making communication about future plans essential. The development of language provided the perfect tool for this communication, allowing our ancestors to coordinate hunting expeditions, seasonal migrations and eventually complex civilisations.
When discussing human vs animal communication about future events in exams, make sure to: