The New Human Science

2019 ◽  
pp. 117-156
Author(s):  
Joanne Souza ◽  
Paul M. Bingham
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Human Origins ◽  
Coercion Theory ◽  
Ultimate Causation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Social Coercion

All prior attempts to understand human origins, behavior, and history have led to paradoxes and dilemmas, highly resistant to resolution. This chapter reviews specific cases of failures to resolve these apparent paradoxes and dilemmas in human evolution and the social sciences. The authors argue that these failures are rooted in confusing proximate with ultimate causation. They further argue that a sound theory of human origins, behavior, and history (social coercion theory) can help to understand the human condition scientifically; specifically, this theory argues that all the unique properties of humans emerge from the unprecedented human social evolution, driven, in turn by the evolution of cost-effective coercive management of conflicts of interest. Finally, the authors argue that social coercion theory yields the first general theory of history, economics, and politics, which provides an approach to problems within the social sciences while armed with a grasp of ultimate causation. Consequently, formerly intractable scientific questions and social concerns become manageable and solvable.

New research frameworks in the study of chimpanzee and gorilla sociality and communication

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam G. B. Roberts ◽  
Anna Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Research Frameworks ◽  
New Research ◽  
Large Groups

Group size in primates is strongly correlated with brain size, but exactly what makes larger groups more ‘socially complex’ than smaller groups is still poorly understood. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are among our closest living relatives and are excellent model species to investigate patterns of sociality and social complexity in primates, and to inform models of human social evolution. The aim of this paper is to propose new research frameworks, particularly the use of social network analysis, to examine how social structure differs in small, medium and large groups of chimpanzees and gorillas, to explore what makes larger groups more socially complex than smaller groups. Given a fission-fusion system is likely to have characterised hominins, a comparison of the social complexity involved in fission-fusion and more stable social systems is likely to provide important new insights into human social evolution

Dream-Sharing and Human Self-Domestication

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Blagrove ◽  
Julia Lockheart
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Dream Sharing ◽  
Experimental Findings

There are many theories of the function of dreams, such as memory consolidation, emotion processing, threat simulation and social simulation. In general, such theories hold that the function of dreams occurs within sleep; occurs for unrecalled dreams as well as for dream that are recalled on awakening; and that conscious recall of dreams is not necessary for their function to occur. In contrast, we propose that dreams have an effect of enhancing empathy and group bonding when dreams are shared and discussed with others. We propose also that this effect would have occurred in history and pre-history and, as it would have enhanced the cohesiveness and mutual understanding of group members, the fictional and engaging characteristics of dream content would have been selected for during human social evolution, interacting with cultural practices of dream-sharing. Such dream-sharing may have taken advantage of the long REM periods that occur for biological reasons near the end of the night. Dream-production and dream-sharing may have developed alongside story-telling, utilising common neural mechanisms. Dream-sharing hence would have contributed to Human Self-Domestication, held by many researchers to be the primary driver of the evolution of human prosociality, tolerance and reduced intragroup emotional reactivity. We note that within-sleep theories of dream function rely on correlational rather than experimental findings, and have as yet untested and speculative mechanisms, whereas post-sleep effects of dream-sharing are easily testable and have mechanisms congruent with the social processes proposed by the theory of Human Self-Domestication.

scholarly journals Male cooperation for breeding opportunities contributes to the evolution of multilevel societies

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1863) ◽  
pp. 20171480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Guang Qi ◽  
Kang Huang ◽  
Gu Fang ◽  
Cyril C. Grueter ◽  
Derek W. Dunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Reconstructions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Male Bonds ◽  
Multilevel Societies ◽  
Insight Into

A small number of primate species including snub-nosed monkeys (colobines), geladas (papionins) and humans live in multilevel societies (MLSs), in which multiple one-male polygamous units (OMUs) coexist to form a band, and non-breeding males associate in bachelor groups. Phylogenetic reconstructions indicate that the papionin MLS appears to have evolved through internal fissioning of large mixed-sex groups, whereas the colobine MLS evolved through the aggregation of small, isolated OMUs. However, how agonistic males maintain tolerance under intensive competition over limited breeding opportunities remains unclear. Using a combination of behavioural analysis, satellite telemetry and genetic data, we quantified the social network of males in a bachelor group of golden snub-nosed monkeys. The results show a strong effect of kinship on social bonds among bachelors. Their interactions ranged from cooperation to agonism, and were regulated by access to mating partners. We suggest that an ‘arms race’ between breeding males' collective defence against usurpation attempts by bachelor males and bachelor males' aggregative offence to obtain reproductive opportunities has selected for larger group size on both sides. The results provide insight into the role that kin selection plays in shaping inter-male cohesion which facilities the evolution of multilevel societies. These findings have implications for understanding human social evolution, as male–male bonds are a hallmark of small- and large-scale human societies.

Bargaining in a Three-Person Game

1967 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 642-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Riker
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Political Interaction ◽  
The Social ◽  
Person Game ◽  
Components Of Behavior ◽  
Fundamental Forces

Games are paradigms of many political events, especially those that involve partial or complete conflicts of interest among the participants. As paradigms, they display in relatively simple social interaction the same fundamental forces found in the more complex interactions of the grander political events whose structure they share. This is the feature of games that makes them attractive vehicles for both theorizing and experimentation in the social sciences. The scientific expectation is that, by studying the quasi-political interaction of games—where the variations among institutional, psychological, and ideological components of behavior are minimized—one will be able to understand more profoundly the basic political activities of bargaining, forming coalitions, and choosing strategies. This more profound understanding is a consequence of obtaining answers to the following questions:(1) What is the mathematical solution, that is, what amount of utility can players be expected to obtain, when it is assumed that players are rational and wish to maximize utility?(2) What is the strategy (or method of playing) that will ensure players of achieving the solution?An answer to the first question indicates what may be anticipated as the outcome of political events. If we know it, then, if also we can assume players are rational maximizers of utility, we can predict the political future with some confidence. An answer to the second question (about strategies) permits political engineers to give advice to politicians about how to behave successfully.

scholarly journals Behavioural homogenization with spillovers in a normative domain

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1879) ◽  
pp. 20180492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Efferson ◽  
Sonja Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Social Condition ◽  
Short Film ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Self Consistency

The importance of culture for human social evolution hinges largely on the extent to which culture supports outcomes that would not otherwise occur. An especially controversial claim is that social learning leads groups to coalesce around group-typical behaviours and associated social norms that spill over to shape choices in asocial settings. To test this, we conducted an experiment with 878 groups of participants in 116 communities in Sudan. Participants watched a short film and evaluated the appropriate way to behave in the situation dramatized in the film. Each session consisted of an asocial condition in which participants provided private evaluations and a social condition in which they provided public evaluations. Public evaluations allowed for social learning. Across sessions, we randomized the order of the two conditions. Public choices dramatically increased the homogeneity of normative evaluations. When the social condition was first, this homogenizing effect spilled over to subsequent asocial conditions. The asocial condition when first was thus alone in producing distinctly heterogeneous groups. Altogether, information about the choices of others led participants to converge rapidly on similar normative evaluations that continued to hold sway in subsequent asocial settings. These spillovers were at least partly owing to the combined effects of conformity and self-consistency. Conformity dominated self-consistency when the two mechanisms were in conflict, but self-consistency otherwise produced choices that persisted through time. Additionally, the tendency to conform was heterogeneous. Females conformed more than males, and conformity increased with the number of other people a decision-maker observed before making her own choice.

scholarly journals An empirical assessment of transparency and reproducibility-related research practices in the social sciences (2014-2017)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Elis Hardwicke ◽  
Joshua D Wallach ◽  
Mallory Kidwell ◽  
Theiss Bendixen ◽  
Sophia Crüwell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
Related Research ◽  
The Social

Serious concerns about research quality have catalyzed a number of reform initiatives intended to improve transparency and reproducibility and thus facilitate self-correction, increase efficiency, and enhance research credibility. Meta-research has evaluated the merits of some individual initiatives; however, this may not capture broader trends reflecting the cumulative contribution of these efforts. In this study, we manually examined a random sample of 250 articles in order to estimate the prevalence of a range of transparency and reproducibility-related indicators in the social sciences literature published between 2014-2017. Few articles indicated availability of materials (16/151, 11% [95% confidence interval, 7% to 16%]), protocols (0/156, 0% [0% to 1%]), raw data (11/156, 7% [2% to 13%]), or analysis scripts (2/156, 1% [0% to 3%]), and no studies were pre-registered (0/156, 0% [0% to 1%]). Some articles explicitly disclosed funding sources (or lack of; 74/236, 31% [25% to 37%]) and some declared no conflicts of interest (36/236, 15% [11% to 20%]). Replication studies were rare (2/156, 1% [0% to 3%]). Few studies were included in evidence synthesis via systematic review (17/151, 11% [7% to 16%]) or meta-analysis (2/151, 1% [0% to 3%]). Less than half the articles were publicly available (101/250, 40% [34% to 47%]). Minimal adoption of transparency and reproducibility-related research practices could be undermining the credibility and efficiency of social science research. The present study establishes a baseline that can be revisited in the future to assess progress.

Human Social Evolution: A Comparison of Hunter-gatherer and Chimpanzee Social Organization

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Layton ◽  
Sean O'Hara
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Social Unit ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Similar Body ◽  
Human Foraging ◽  
Lower Population

This chapter compares the social behaviour of human hunter-gatherers with that of the better-studied chimpanzee species, Pan troglodytes, in an attempt to pinpoint the unique features of human social evolution. Although hunter-gatherers and chimpanzees living in central Africa have similar body weights, humans live at much lower population densities due to their greater dependence on predation. Human foraging parties have longer duration than those of chimpanzees, lasting hours rather than minutes, and a higher level of mutual dependence, through the division of labour between men (hunting) and women (gathering); which is in turn related to pair-bonding, and meat sharing to reduce the risk of individual hunters' failure on any particular day. The band appears to be a uniquely human social unit that resolves the tension between greater dispersion and greater interdependence.

Trajectory Discontinuity and Morphogenesis: The Implications of Catastrophe Theory for Archaeology

1978 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Renfrew
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Catastrophe Theory ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Abrupt Change ◽  
Culture Systems ◽  
Causative Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
René Thom ◽  
Discontinuity Problem

The problem of discontinuity in the behavior of culture systems-the last stronghold of the anti-processualists-is discussed. Abrupt change in behavior can now be described in terms of smooth changes in the underlying causative factors by means of Rene Thom"s Theory of Elementary Catastrophes. The theory suggests insights not only into discontinuities with respect to time ("sudden" changes) but into the differentiation of forms as the result of bifurcations (morphogenesis). Although existing applications of the Theory in the social sciences lack quantitative precision, they offer a deeper understanding of crucial mechanisms of social evolution and, it is suggested, go far toward solving the discontinuity problem in archaeology.

scholarly journals Mathematical Ecology, Evolution and the Social Sciences

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
Simon A. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Critical Transitions ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Common ◽  
Scaling Features ◽  
Cross Fertilization

The last few decades have seen an enhanced partnership between ecologists and social scientists, especially economists, in addressing the environmental challenges facing societies.  Not only do ecology and economics, in particular, need each other; but also the challenges they face are similar and can benefit from cross-fertilization. At the core are scaling from the micro- to the macro, the development of appropriate statistical mechanics to facilitate scaling, features underlying the resilience and robustness of systems, the anticipation of critical transitions and regime shifts, and addressing the conflicts of interest between individual agents and the common good through exploration of cooperation, prosociality and collective decision-making. Confronting these issues will be crucial in the coming years for all nations, especially those in South Asia that will suffer in major ways from the consequences of overpopulation, climate change and other environmental threats.

scholarly journals An empirical assessment of transparency and reproducibility-related research practices in the social sciences (2014–2017)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 190806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom E. Hardwicke ◽  
Joshua D. Wallach ◽  
Mallory C. Kidwell ◽  
Theiss Bendixen ◽  
Sophia Crüwell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
Related Research ◽  
The Social

Serious concerns about research quality have catalysed a number of reform initiatives intended to improve transparency and reproducibility and thus facilitate self-correction, increase efficiency and enhance research credibility. Meta-research has evaluated the merits of some individual initiatives; however, this may not capture broader trends reflecting the cumulative contribution of these efforts. In this study, we manually examined a random sample of 250 articles in order to estimate the prevalence of a range of transparency and reproducibility-related indicators in the social sciences literature published between 2014 and 2017. Few articles indicated availability of materials (16/151, 11% [95% confidence interval, 7% to 16%]), protocols (0/156, 0% [0% to 1%]), raw data (11/156, 7% [2% to 13%]) or analysis scripts (2/156, 1% [0% to 3%]), and no studies were pre-registered (0/156, 0% [0% to 1%]). Some articles explicitly disclosed funding sources (or lack of; 74/236, 31% [25% to 37%]) and some declared no conflicts of interest (36/236, 15% [11% to 20%]). Replication studies were rare (2/156, 1% [0% to 3%]). Few studies were included in evidence synthesis via systematic review (17/151, 11% [7% to 16%]) or meta-analysis (2/151, 1% [0% to 3%]). Less than half the articles were publicly available (101/250, 40% [34% to 47%]). Minimal adoption of transparency and reproducibility-related research practices could be undermining the credibility and efficiency of social science research. The present study establishes a baseline that can be revisited in the future to assess progress.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document