Aggressive Mimicry and the Evolution of the Human Cognitive Niche

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5422326
AutoresCody J Moser (0000-0002-5068-0740, University of California, Merced, autor de correspondencia), William Buckner (0000-0001-9786-2384, Boston University), Melina Sarian (University of California, Davis), Jeffrey Winking (0000-0002-2298-3680, Texas A&M University)
Año2023
Volumen34
Número3
Páginas456-475
Fecha de publicación2023-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHuman Nature (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1045-6767 • E-ISSN: 1936-4776
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s12110-023-09458-y
PMID37672174
OpenAlexW4386467557
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas57

The evolutionary origins of deception and its functional role in our species is a major focus of research in the science of human origins. Several hypotheses have been proposed for its evolution, often packaged under either the Social Brain Hypothesis, which emphasizes the role that the evolution of our social systems may have played in scaffolding our cognitive traits, and the Foraging Brain Hypothesis, which emphasizes how changes in the human dietary niche were met with subsequent changes in cognition to facilitate foraging of difficult-to-acquire foods. Despite substantive overlap, these hypotheses are often presented as competing schools of thought, and there have been few explicitly proposed theoretical links unifying the two. Utilizing cross-cultural data gathered from the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), we identify numerous (n = 357) examples of the application of deception toward prey across 145 cultures. By comparing similar behaviors in nonhuman animals that utilize a hunting strategy known as aggressive mimicry, we suggest a potential pathway through which the evolution of deception may have taken place. Rather than deception evolving as a tactic for deceiving conspecifics, we suggest social applications of deception in humans could have evolved from an original context of directing these behaviors toward prey. We discuss this framework with regard to the evolution of other mental traits, including language, Theory of Mind, and empathy

Behavioural sciences · Biology · Cognition · Cognitive science · Mimicry · Niche · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Neuroscience · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Psychology · Behavioral Neuroscience · Ecology