Chapter 5- Evolution, Culture, and the Emergence of Modern Humans

Question 1

becoming human is considered from two perspectives

Answer 1

evolutionary or phylogenetically, and developmentally from birth to death or ontogenetically

Question 2

Phylogenesis

Answer 2

(from Greek phulon ‘race’ or ‘tribe’ and genesis ‘origin’) is the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or a group of organisms (Soanes & Stevenson, 2008). In psychology, this term is used to describe the evolutionary emergence of the mental capabilities of the human mind together with the specifically human sociocultural environment.

Question 3

Ontogenesis

Answer 3

(from Greek ont ‘being’ and genesis ‘origin’) is the development of an individual organism from the earliest stages [the fertilization of the egg] to maturity [final adult form]

Question 4

Phylogenetic Approach

Answer 4

Explored by evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, and psychologists

Ontogenetic Research
-Conducted by developmental scientists, psychologists, and anthropologists

Within both perspectives, Culture is the crucial factor that influences the development of humans as the species Homo sapiens and as individuals

Question 5

The Phylogenetic Understanding of the Evolution of Humans and Culture

Question 6

Human Evolution and Unique Characteristics

Answer 6

Humans evolved with distinct characteristics including consciousness, language, rational thinking, abstract thought, and cultural creation.

These traits differentiate humans from other species and pose questions about their evolutionary development and the role of culture.

Question 7

Overview of Human Evolution

Answer 7

Fossils of hominoids, including humans and their ancestors, date back 20 million years.
The lineage of humans and great apes diverged about 5-8 million years ago.

Pre-modern humans include Homo neanderthalensis, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo erectus, Homo floresiensis, and Homo ergaster.

Question 8

Geographic Distribution of Hominin Fossils

Answer 8

Hominin fossils have been found in Africa, Europe, Indonesia, India, and China.

Homo neanderthalensis coexisted with modern humans and went extinct around 28,000 years ago.

Homo sapiens emerged in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago, with behaviorally modern humans appearing around 50,000 years ago.

Question 9

Human Evolution and Cultural Emergence

Answer 9

Modern humans share evolutionary history and genetic heritage with great apes.

The distinction between humans and great apes lies in the emergence of culture, a symbolic, conventional, and normative reality.

Interdisciplinary research seeks to understand the origins of human cognitive abilities, social organizations, and culture.

Question 10

Hypotheses about Human Evolution and Culture

Answer 10

Sociobiological Approach:
-Believes biological evolution solely shaped human abilities.
-Suggests culture emerged as a result of biological evolution.

Culture-Centric Approach:
-Emphasizes culture’s role in human evolution.
-Views cultural evolution alongside genetic evolution.

Question 11

Key Figures and Fields

Answer 11

Sociobiology and Human Sociobiology:
-Introduced by E. O. Wilson.
-Applies evolutionary principles to human behavior.

Human Behavioral Ecology:
-Applies evolutionary models to study human behavior.
-Focuses on pre-industrialized societies.

Human Ethology:
-Rooted in Lorenz, von Fish, and Tinbergen’s work.
-Applies ethological principles to human behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology:
-Applies sociobiological thinking to understand human behavior.
-Initiated by Cosmides and Tooby.

Question 12

Role of Culture in Human Evolution

Answer 12

Group 1 Perspective:
-Culture is a product of biological evolution.
-Believes culture minimally shaped human evolution.

Group 2 Perspective:
-Culture is integral to human evolution.
-Facilitates transmission of behaviors beyond genetics.

Question 13

Challenges of Investigating Human Evolution

Answer 13

Human evolution occurs over thousands to millions of years, making direct observation impossible.

Researchers rely on indirect evidence such as fossils, comparative studies, and genetic analysis to infer evolutionary processes.

Statements about human evolution are hypotheses subject to falsification with new evidence.

Question 14

Application of Evolutionary Thinking in Psychology

Answer 14

Evolutionary theories in psychology are based on empirical data and take various forms.

Primary theories include human sociobiology, human behavioral ecology, human ethology, evolutionary psychology, social intelligence theories, and cultural evolution theories.

Each theory proposes mechanisms and conditions driving human evolution, leading to theoretical diversity and controversy.

Question 15

Biological and Cultural Co-evolution Theories

Answer 15

Second Group Perspective:
-Human traits result from interactions of genetic and cultural inheritance.
-Cultural evolution, alongside biological evolution, crucial in the emergence of modern humans.

Key Theories:
-Cultural evolution (Mesoudi, 2016)
-Gene-culture co-evolution hypothesis (Durham, 1991; Gintis, 2011)
-Dual inheritance theory (Boyd & Richerson, 2005)

Question 16

Memetics:

Answer 16

Based on Richard Dawkins’ concept of memes.

Memes are cultural units analogous to genes.

Hypothesizes memes self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures.

Question 17

Gene-Culture Coevolution Theory

Answer 17

Proposed by Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Mark Feldman, Robert Boyd, and Peter Richerson.

Genetic and cultural evolution continuously interact and influence each other.

Question 18

Shared Intentionality Theory

Answer 18

Developed by Michael Tomasello:

Human sociality and culture crucial in human evolution.

Emphasizes early humans’ social arrangements and cooperation.

Traces the development of human cognitive abilities, communication, and culture from apes to modern humans.

Question 19

Evolutionary Psychologists’ Perspective

Answer 19

Culture is viewed as the product of evolved psychological mechanisms in individuals living in groups.

According to Tooby & Cosmides (1992), culture is a manufactured product of evolved psychological mechanisms.

Question 20

Memetics Interpretation

Answer 20

Culture is seen as a set of memes, which are units of cultural information that replicate in human minds through imitation and teaching.

Barrett, Dunbar, & Lycett (2002) define culture as a collection of memes transmitted through social transmission.

Question 21

Cultural Evolutionists’ View

Answer 21

Culture is considered as information capable of influencing behavior acquired through teaching, imitation, and social transmission.

Richerson & Boyd (2005) describe culture as socially transmitted information affecting individuals’ behavior.

Question 22

Evolutionary Anthropologists’ Definition

Answer 22

Culture is minimally defined as socially transmitted information.

Alvard (2003) and Henrich & McElreath (2003) view culture as socially learned information stored in people’s brains.

Question 23

Coevolutionist Approach

Answer 23

Culture is seen as a human-made phenomenon incorporating everything within culturally defined meanings, values, and beliefs.

Caporael (1997) describes culture as a framework for perception, thought, and action.

Question 24

Shared Intentionality Theory

Answer 24

Culture is interpreted as collectively intentional, normative, and conventional models and practices regulating people’s behaviors in a group.

Tomasello (2014) defines culture as models and practices regulating group behavior.

Question 25

Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 25

Sociobiology proposes that human behaviors are genetic adaptations shaped by genetic selection.

Evolutionary psychology builds upon sociobiological principles to understand the emergence of human mental and behavioral traits.

Question 26

Psychological Foundations of Culture

Answer 26

Cosmides and Tooby’s integrated causal model explains the evolution of psychological mechanisms during the Pleistocene epoch.

These mechanisms regulate cognition and behaviors, shaping human cultures along with their practices and representations.

Question 27

Culture as a Product of Evolved Psychological Mechanisms

Answer 27

Culture is viewed as the product of evolved psychological mechanisms situated in individuals living in groups.

The role of culture in shaping human evolution is minimized in this perspective, with biological evolution considered as the primary driver.

Question 28

Universal Human Nature

Answer 28

Evolutionary psychologists identify various psychological mechanisms, such as mate preference, incest avoidance, and fear responses, as components of universal human nature.

The goal is to empirically verify these components across cultures to establish universal human characteristics.

Question 29

Cross-Cultural Psychology and Universalism

Answer 29

Cross-cultural psychologists aim to discover universal human nature through intensive cross-cultural research.

The onion peeling and stratigraphic hypotheses illustrate the layers of biological, psychological, social, and cultural regulation shaping human functioning.

Question 30

Culture-as-Adaptation Theory

Answer 30

Culture-as-adaptation theorists aim to understand why cultures are created and their purpose.

According to this theory, cultures are created by groups of people with universal psychological mechanisms to adapt to their environment and meet basic survival needs.

Question 31

Definition of Culture

Answer 31

Matsumoto and Juang (2013) define Culture as a unique meaning and information system shared by a group, allowing them to meet basic survival needs, pursue happiness, and derive meaning from life.

Culture is seen as an exclusively human-specific survival tool or adaptation.

Question 32

Universal Psychological Toolkit

Answer 32

Humans are endowed with a universal psychological toolkit including language, complex social cognition, memory, emotions, personality traits, and morality.

This toolkit allows humans to address basic needs and motives in various ecological niches and environments

Question 33

Emergence of Culture

Answer 33

Cultures emerge as functional survival tools created by people with essential psychological abilities to manage their lives in different environments.

The adaptationist theory suggests a time-sequence with psychological capabilities developing first, followed by the emergence of cultures.

Question 34

Theory of Shared Intentionality

Answer 34

The theory proposes hypotheses on the emergence and mechanisms of human sociality, cognition, communication, and culture.

It suggests that early humans needed to cooperate to survive, leading to the development of specialized cognitive and communicative skills.

Question 35

Importance of Cooperation

Answer 35

Bands of early humans required cooperation to survive, leading to the development of specialized cognitive and communicative abilities.

Human cooperative sociality and related abilities contributed to the emergence of culture as a new level of behavior regulation.

Question 36

Evolution of Human Mental Capacities

Answer 36

Tomasello’s hypothesis suggests a hierarchy of cognitive regulations: individual intentionality, joint intentionality, and collective intentionality.

The development of these levels of regulation during hominin evolution contributed to the emergence of modern humans with their intellectual capacities and culture.

Question 37

Levels of Socio-Cognitive Regulation

Answer 37

Individual intentionality involves understanding one’s own intentions and goals.

Joint intentionality involves shared goals and intentions between individuals.

Collective intentionality involves shared goals and intentions among a group of individuals, leading to the emergence of culture.

Question 38

Intentionality

Answer 38

means the ‘aboutness’ of an organism’s mental states. Mental states are directed toward and represent (are about) some internal states or external objects or events: needs and goals, food sources, terrain, other animals or individuals. Intentionality is a fundamental attribute of the mentality of some animals and the mental states, including consciousness, of humans

Question 39

Level 1: Individual intentionality of great apes.

Answer 39

Defined as individually self-regulated cognitive behavior aimed at achieving individual goals.

Involves setting goals, evaluating opportunities, monitoring performance, and correcting actions based on circumstances.

Question 40

Components of Individual Intentionality

Answer 40

Cognitive representations: Mentally represent organism’s needs, goals, preferences, and situations.

Inference and self-monitoring skills: Process information, compare outcomes to desired ones, and make corrections.

Cognitive models: Generalized representations of experienced situations stored in memory.

Question 41

Purpose of Individual Intentionality

Answer 41

Focuses on dealing with the physical world to meet an organism’s needs.

Predominantly addresses individual well-being and operates as a one-layer structure.

Question 42

Social Aspects of Great Ape Intentionality

Answer 42

Great apes, including chimpanzees, live in groups and face various social challenges.

They demonstrate rudimentary theory of mind abilities, understanding others’ intentions and goals.

Question 43

Comparison with Human Intentionality

Answer 43

While similar to human individual intentionality, great ape intentionality is simpler and primarily related to competition.

Humans possess more sophisticated theories of mind linked to full-blown cooperation.

Question 44

Level 2. Development of social cognition in pre-modern humans: Localized cooperation and joint intentionality.

Question 45

Development of social cognition in pre-modern humans

Answer 45

Tomasello and colleagues suggest considering developments in early or pre-modern humans bridging the gap between great apes and modern humans

Pre-modern humans include Homo erectus, Homo ergaster, Homo heidelbergensis, etc.

The emergence of culture, with its norms and institutions, required cognitive skills distinct from those of great apes.

Question 46

Role of sociality in hominin evolution

Answer 46

Human evolution occurred in social groups, where cooperation was essential for survival and productivity.

Group living provided protection and efficiency through division of labor, making coordinated cooperation crucial for effective group functioning.

Question 47

Transition from Individual to Joint Intentionality:

Answer 47

Great apes exhibit individual intentionality in their cooperative activities, primarily driven by personal goals and lacking consideration for others’ intentions.

Early humans needed efficient collaboration, leading to the development of joint intentionality, which allowed for shared goals and attention in social coordination.

Joint intentionality expanded the scope of social regulation beyond individual competition, facilitating cooperative behaviors in groups.

Question 48

Development of Social Traits and Motivations

Answer 48

Early humans developed more tolerant, pro-social personalities conducive to enhanced cooperation compared to great apes.

New motivations emerged, such as concern for peer evaluation and acceptance as cooperating partners, further fostering cooperative activities and communication.

Question 49

Significance of Joint Intentionality

Answer 49

Joint intentionality bridged the gap between the individual intentionality of great apes and the symbolic, perspectival, and collective intentionality of modern humans that gave rise to cultures.

It allowed early humans to form relatively small, face-to-face bands of 30-50 individuals, where cooperative activities like foraging were primary, promoting effective social coordination.

Formed smaller units for cooperative activities, with foraging being primary
Groups large enough to develop new social skills but not too large to make cooperation unmanageable

Question 50

Illustrative Example:

Answer 50

In a hunting scenario, a small group of individuals collaborates to hunt large game, recognizing the benefits of cooperation in obtaining substantial food resources for the entire group.

Cooperative hunting is seen as more beneficial for individual and collective survival compared to individualistic hunting for small animals.

Question 51

Role of Group Size:

Answer 51

• Influences human biological and psychological traits.
• Evolutionary pressures within groups shape unique cognitive, affective, and perceptual processes.

Question 52

Linnda Caporael’s Hypothesis:

Answer 52

• Three core groups identified:
  a. Work/family groups (~5 individuals)
  b. Bands or tribes (~30 persons)
  c. Macrobands (~300 individuals)
• Work/family groups focus on daily survival tasks.
• Bands organize families, accumulate skills, and generate common knowledge.
• Macrobands foster cultural development and shared social realities.

Question 53

Hierarchical Organization:

Answer 53

• Core social groups are hierarchically organized.
• Adaptations at lower levels are incorporated and advanced at higher levels.
• Humans are “obligatory interdependent,” emphasizing the role of social arrangements, mental abilities, and culture.

Question 54

Robin Dunbar’s Hypothesis:

Answer 54

• Optimal group size for human cognitive capacities is ~150 individuals.
• Corresponds to independent, self-regulated, and sustainable groups across human communities.

Question 55

Implications and Debates:

Answer 55

• No consensus on the exact size of communities that gave rise to modern humans.
• Acknowledgement of the importance of group size in human evolution is universal.
• Caporael and Dunbar’s hypotheses highlight the complex relationship between group size, cognitive evolution, and cultural development.

Question 56

Mechanism of Joint Cooperation:

Answer 56

• Individual intentionality insufficient for complex cooperation.
• Joint intentionality emerges for effective coordination.

Question 57

Components of Joint Intentionality:

Answer 57

• Development of joint goals.
• Mutual knowledge or common ground.

Question 58

Role of Distribution of Labour:

Answer 58

• Assigns specific roles and perspectives to hunters.
• Individual perspectives combined for joint cooperation.

Question 59

Double-Layered Structure:

Answer 59

• Combines individuality and sharedness.
• Individual intentionality subordinated to joint intentionality.

Question 60

Consequences of Socio-Cognitive Regulation:

Answer 60

• Concern for social evaluation.
• Promotion of cooperative communication.
• Formation of ‘We’-relationships and ‘We’-intentionality.
• Emergence of nascent consciousness and sense of self.

Question 61

The primary components of joint intentionality

Answer 61

(1) I must have the goal to capture the stag together with you; (2) you must have the goal to capture the stag with me; and, critically, (3) we must have mutual knowledge, or common ground, that we both know each other’s goals.

joint goals, intersubjectivity, specific role, joint attention, individuals’ perspectives

Question 62

Joint Intentionality

Answer 62

Joint intentionality refers to the shared understanding among individuals to pursue a common goal, involving mutual knowledge or common ground about each other’s goals.

Example: In cooperative hunting, joint intentionality is achieved when each hunter aims to capture the stag together and they all share the understanding of this shared goal.

Question 63

Distribution of Labor

Answer 63

In cooperative activities such as hunting, the distribution of labor involves assigning specific roles to individuals, each with a unique perspective and responsibility.

Example: In a hunting expedition, some individuals may act as beaters to drive the prey towards others who are positioned to ambush and kill the stag, demonstrating the distribution of labor.

Question 64

Joint Attention

Answer 64

Joint attention refers to the shared focus of individuals on relevant information during a cooperative activity, allowing them to coordinate their actions effectively.

Example: In a hunt, hunters must maintain joint attention on the target animal and be aware of each other’s focus to respond appropriately to changes in the environment or the behavior of the prey.

Question 65

Perspectives Within Cooperative Activity

Answer 65

Perspectives within cooperative activity refer to the unique viewpoints and interpretations of individuals participating in the activity, influenced by their roles, experiences, and motivations.

Example: Different hunters may have varying perspectives on the same hunt, such as viewing the killed animal solely as a source of food or as a demonstration of skill and strength, reflecting their individual motivations and experiences.

Question 66

Double-Layered Structure of Joint Cooperation Regulation

Answer 66

The double-layered structure of joint cooperation regulation involves the combination of individual motivations and goals with shared goals and intersubjective understandings, reflecting both individuality and sharedness in cooperative activities.

Example: In pre-modern human cooperative hunting, individual motivations and roles are combined with shared goals and joint attention, illustrating the dual nature of cognitive regulation in cooperative endeavors

Question 67

Consequences of Socio-Cognitive Regulation

Answer 67

The consequences of socio-cognitive regulation include increased emphasis on social evaluation, the development of cooperative communication, the formation of group relationships, and the emergence of consciousness and a sense of self.

Example: Early humans became concerned with how they were perceived by others in cooperative activities, leading to the development of communication skills and the formation of ‘We’-relationships, ultimately contributing to the emergence of consciousness and self-awareness.

Question 68

Conscious Awareness

Answer 68

Conscious awareness is the ability of an individual to perceive the objects of their psychological functioning and to reflect on the process of this functioning, including thoughts and feelings.

Example: Being aware that one sees a picture is a second-order or meta-mental state, demonstrating conscious awareness as a mental state about another mental state.

Question 69

Self-awareness

Answer 69

Self-awareness refers to the awareness of oneself as a phenomenal center of experiences and perceptions from a first-person perspective, including reflection on one’s own thoughts and feelings.

individuals start to see themselves through the eyes of others

Question 70

Reflective Process

Answer 70

The reflective process involves the ability to reflect on oneself and one’s experiences, considering one’s thoughts and feelings from an outside perspective, which is fundamental to consciousness.

Example: According to George Herbert Mead, individuals become objects to themselves by incorporating the attitudes of others and using them as a mirror to see themselves through the eyes of others, contributing to self-awareness and consciousness.

Question 71

Emergence of Self and Consciousness

Answer 71

The emergence of self and consciousness is facilitated by internalizing the attitudes of others and reflecting on oneself through the perspectives of others, leading to self-awareness and the ability to reflect on one’s own mental states.

Question 72

Evolution of Cooperative Communication

Answer 72

The evolution of cooperative communication involves individuals’ concerns about how clear their communication efforts are to others, leading to self-reflection and contributing to the development of self-awareness.

Question 73

Why are pre-humans with joint intentionality not considered fully humans?

Answer 73

They are not considered fully humans because their joint intentionality is limited in scope and does not encompass all group members or regulate all behaviors uniformly.

Pre-humans needed to develop an intentionality that includes all group members and uniformly regulates all behaviors and actions to become full humans.

Question 74

What is missing in the presented schema of behavior regulation through joint intentionality?

Answer 74

The missing aspect is the inclusion of all group members and the uniform regulation of all behaviors and actions.

Question 75

The missing aspect is the inclusion of all group members and the uniform regulation of all behaviors and actions.

Answer 75

The missing aspect is the inclusion of all group members and the uniform regulation of all behaviors and actions.

The limitations include its instability, as joint intentionality dissolves after completing a task, and its weak intersubjectivity due to pre-linguistic communication and limited perspectives incorporated.

Question 76

What is one of the greatest unsolved puzzles in the study of human evolution, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica?

Answer 76

The emergence of human culture, including language and symbolically mediated ideas and beliefs.

Question 77

According to Tomasello (2014), how did Culture and uniquely human cognitive capacities co-evolve?

Answer 77

Through cooperative activities and collaborative communication.

Question 78

What factors led to the demand for a new form of social regulation beyond second-personal regulation based on joint intentionality, according to Tomasello?

Answer 78

Changes in population size, ecological conditions, and increased inter-group interactions and competition.

the starting point for Culture to develop, according to Tomasello?
-Changes in the social arrangements of late pre-modern humans, with their face-to-face groups growing into bigger units known as tribes or macrobands.

Question 79

What was the principle shift during the emergence of modern humans?

Answer 79

The regulation of individuals moved from the ‘second-personal’ mode to a ‘group-minded’ mode, where normative collective regulatory mechanisms were created for all members.

Question 80

What term did Tomasello use to describe the basis of group-based regulation?

Answer 80

Collective intentionality.

Collective intentionality is a group phenomenon where not just an individual but a group as a unit intends something. It involves minds within the group being jointly directed at objects, matters of fact, states of affairs, goals, or values. As soon as collective intentionality emerged in human groups, societies and social institutions started forming.

Question 81

1. Development of Conventional Cultural Practices (CCP):

Answer 81

• Emergence of norms and practices transcending individual parties.
• Established for various group activities.

Question 82

2. Cultural Common Ground:

Answer 82

• Collective knowledge of CCP.
• Facilitates higher-order group functioning.

Because of the emergence of CCP, everybody knows that all others know these practices;

Question 83

3. Emergence of Social Norms:

Answer 83

• CCP become normative.
• Expectation of group-wide adherence.

Because the whole group shares these practices, they become normative. This means that it is expected that all members of a group

Question 84

4. Motivating Force of Social Norms:

Answer 84

• Deviations disrupt group functioning.
• Nonconformity signals lack of trust.

Social norms gain a strong motivating force in regulating members’ behaviours.
People not only become interested in following these norms and practices themselves, but they also watch how others follow them because it is beneficial to all group members for everyone in the group to follow them

Question 85

5. Establishment of Public Persona:

Answer 85

• Group norms shape individual reputation.
• Public status based on adherence to norms.

Members of bands/tribes are judged by other members based on their adherence to the group norms.

Ultimately, my public persona, or how my group perceives me and who I am in the public’s eyes, becomes a social product that is created by this collectivity

Question 86

6. Transformation into Sociocultural Institutions:

Answer 86

• CCP evolve into institutional practices.
• Parenting as an example.
  Based on the climate where a group lives, the resources it has, the food that is available to it, and other factors, members of a group develop the most beneficial ways for parents to take care of, to feed, discipline, and entertain their children.

CCP that are regularly repeated ultimately transform into cultural/social institutions

Question 87

Social/cultural institution

Answer 87

is “a fairly permanent cluster of social usages. It is reasonably enduring, the complex integrated pattern of behaviour by which social control is exerted and through which basic social desires or needs can be met” (Winick, 1966, quoted in

Question 88

7. Emergence of Culture:

Answer 88

• CCP, cultural common ground, social norms, and institutions.
• Group-based, socially-constructed regulatory mechanism.

Question 89

8. Cumulative Cultural Evolution:

Answer 89

• Innovations accumulate over generations.
• Culture evolves with new practices

After their emergence, cultures start evolving and accumulating their own innovations. Thus, cumulative cultural evolution occurs naturally

These practices, techniques and routines are all passed down to them by their parents and other senior group members.

Question 90

9. Development of Group Identification:

Answer 90

• Markers of group identity through cultural practices.
• Positive social identity formation.

Along the line of adherence to CCP and social norms, the group identification of tribe members started developing.

This is how ‘We’ do things here. Later, this sense of group identification was extended to include the ancestors of these people and the historical antecedents of their existence. This created a strong positive social identity: this is who ‘we’ are

Question 91

10. Complex Cognitive Representations:

Answer 91

• Include individual, second-personal, and group-based expectations.
• Mental models saturated by cultural content.

Cognitive representations become rich and complex as they now include individual, second-personal, and group-based expectations, norms, and evaluations. People’s inference and self-monitoring skills must also become complex because of the group-normative prescriptions they must monitor

Question 92

11. Emergence of Conventional Linguistic Communication:

Answer 92

• From local to collective communication.
• Conventions known to all group members.

A new and elaborated form of conventional linguistic communication emerges within collective intentionality and group-based intersubjectivity

Question 93

12. Development of Human Consciousness and Self:

Answer 93

• Full-blown abilities developed through sociocultural evolution.
• Central to human mental regulation.

Question 94

This rise of modern human cultures and humans’ unique mental capabilities

Answer 94

– happened about 50,000 years ago

such as the emergence of agriculture, the invention of the wheel, new weaponry

singing, dancing, drawing and painting, as well as the development of religion.

Question 95

What evolutionary pressures led to the natural selection of traits forming the nature of modern humans?

Answer 95

Survival pressures related to pre-modern humans surviving in large groups and new environments led to the natural selection of physiological, mental, and behavioral traits forming the nature of modern humans.

Question 96

How did the evolution of a large frontal lobe with a sophisticated neocortex benefit early humans?

Answer 96

It allowed for the control of individualistic and non-cooperative impulses, management of attention, and participation in planning and performing complex actions such as coordinating activities and monitoring interactions.

Question 97

What complex mental representations were required for second-personal and cultural forms of mental and behavioral regulation?

Answer 97

hey required the ability to symbolize other people and their intentions, reflect on one’s own actions, and possess meta-representations and abstraction.

Question 98

What anatomical changes were associated with the demand for more sophisticated vocalization for oral communication?

Answer 98

The emergence of a new anatomy of the throat, including specifically human vocal cords and the larynx, occurred.

Question 99

Why did the large area of white sclera around the iris of human eyes likely emerge?

Answer 99

It likely emerged to make it easier for others to follow the directions of one’s gaze and attention, facilitating joint attention and coordination of partners’ attention.

Question 100

Key points regarding culture-gene co-evolution

Answer 100

Evolution of Frontal Lobe and Neocortex

Evolution of Frontal Lobe and Neocortex

Evolution of Vocalization Anatomy

Role of Eye Anatomy in Joint Attention

Question 101

Insights from Tomasello’s Shared Intentionality Hypothesis

Answer 101

1. Role of Culture: Crucial in shaping modern humans’ cognitive, moral, and personality traits.
2. Evolutionary Pressures: Led to the emergence of coordinated cooperation as an adaptive strategy.
3. Development of Mental Mechanisms: Joint intentionality evolved to regulate coordinated cooperation.
4. Emergence of Cultural Regulation: Normative and conventional regulation developed to address challenges of surviving in larger groups.
5. Mental Capabilities: Collective intentionality and intersubjectivity developed, paving the way for full-fledged mental capabilities.
6. Communication and Language: Evolution of human communication followed by the emergence of language and linguistic capabilities.
7. Humans as Social and Cultural Beings: Evolved as profoundly social and cultural beings.
8. Sociocultural Reality: Humans created a sociocultural reality dictating their lives, shaping actions, thoughts, and feelings.

Question 102

Adaptation

Answer 102

phenotypic and/or behavioural traits or mechanisms that were created by natural selection to solve the problems of reproduction and survival; hence, they aim to enhance the fitness of an organism. Adaptations are inheritable and transmitted across generations by genes. This term also describes the process of the evolvement of these mechanisms during biological evolution.

Question 103

Adaptively relevant environment

Answer 103

“A central part of evolutionary theory is that there is a fit between the characteristics of any species and the environment in which it lives, and that this has been shaped over evolutionary history by the process of natural selection. … It follows from this process that for any particular species there is an environment to which it is best suited to live, and equally others where it cannot or can only do so with difficulty (i.e., zones of adaptation and maladaptation). Another outcome is that the traits of any organism are best understood in terms of the particular environment in which they evolved. Thus, for example, the thick fur of a polar bear and its color are explicable in the context of a cold, snowy landscape” (Pagel, 2002). Social groups, culture, and the symbolic environment form their adaptively relevant environment for humans.

Question 104

“Archaic Homo sapiens

Answer 104

an older term for hominids with larger brains and more modern crania that appear in the fossil records about 500 kya [thousand years ago] in Africa and Europe, and somewhat later in eastern Asia” (Boyd & Silk, 2003, p. A4). Other synonymous terms are ‘pre-modern humans’ and ‘early humans.’

Question 105

“Australopithecines

Answer 105

a genus (Australopithecus) of extinct hominids that lived from 4.2 mya [million years ago] to about 1.8 mya. Australopithecines were characterized by bipedal locomotion, robust teeth and jaws, and ape-sized brains.

Question 106

Biological evolution

Answer 106

“Biological evolution, stripped to its barest essentials, is nothing more than the temporal changes in the genetic makeup of populations (Pagel, 2002). Biological evolution is a genetic selection that occurs when differences in a particular phenotypic (observable) trait bring increased fitness to an organism; such differences are attributed to the genetic differences that could be transmitted to following generations (see Adaptation). Biological evolution includes three processes: variation (some phenotypic traits vary within a population; for example, diversity in birds’ plumage), selection (the variants that provide the best fit of individuals to their environments are selected; this means that the organisms with the fittest traits survive), and retention (survived individuals passes on their genes that are responsible for the fittest variant to their offspring). See also Natural selection.

Question 107

“Cultural evolution

Answer 107

the idea that Darwin’s theory of evolution – comprising variation, competition and inheritance – applies to cultural change, where inheritance derives from social learning rather than genetic transmission” (Mesoudi, 2016, p. 18). Cultural evolution is an acquisition of behavioural or phenotypic traits based on information, skills or forms of behaviour that an individual learns from other members of their group. This process of cultural/social learning is also labelled cultural transmission. Researchers (Wood, 2011) differentiate between vertical transmission (from parents to children), oblique transmission (from members of an older generation to individuals of a younger generation) and horizontal transmission (from individuals in the same generation to one another). Based on the dual-inheritance or gene-culture co-evolution theory, traits that evolved through the demands of culture can be inherited and passed on to the next generation by genes (for example, humans gaining lactose tolerance).

Question 108

Culture

Answer 108

(in the evolution theories) is information stored in human brains that is acquired by imitation, teaching, or some other forms of social learning and that is capable of affecting behaviour or some other aspect of individual’s phenotype” (Boyd and Silk, 2003, p. A6). Culture is cumulative, and it shows signs of change and improvement across generations.

Question 109

Cognitive model

Answer 109

(in individual intentionality) is the typification or categorization of all the organism’s experiences accumulated during its life.

Question 110

“Cognitive map is

Answer 110

a form of cognitive model that represent a situation in which organism is prepared to function, including “a mental representation of the location of objects in space and time that allows for efficient navigation”

Question 111

Dual inheritance theory (DIT) (see also gene-culture co-evolution)

Answer 111

“A theory which states that culture and biology are separate but interacting processes affecting human behavioural response. The interaction between the two can produce results that are predicted by neither process on its own”

Question 112

Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA)

Answer 112

the ancestral environments which selection pressures formed an adaptation. “The past environment(s) in which currently observed adaptations were shaped” (Boyd & Silk, 2003, p. A6). According to evolutionary psychologists, “the EEA refers to the evolutionary conditions under which human mental abilities evolved, and hence to the selective processes that shaped the human mind”

Question 113

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 113

“Evolutionary psychologists generally assume that the attributes of the species they study (in this case, humans) have evolved through natural selection. Specifically, evolutionary psychologists assume that the brain circuitry and processes underlying human behavior include features maintained from our primate ancestry and modifications that were selected because, at the time they evolved, they led to adaptive behavior. It is thus sometimes said that the human brain houses an “adapted mind”

Question 114

Fitness:

Answer 114

“the capability of an individual to reproduce so that its genes are represented in the next generation. Fitness is measured as the proportion of genes contributed to the next generation by an individual relative to the contributions of others”

Question 115

Gene-culture coevolution theory

Answer 115

“Human characteristics are the product of gene–culture coevolution, which is an evolutionary dynamic involving the interaction of genes and culture over long time periods. Gene–culture coevolution is a special case of niche construction. Gene– culture coevolution is responsible for human other-regarding preferences, a taste for fairness, the capacity to empathize and salience of morality and character virtues”

Question 116

“Genotype

Answer 116

the genetic composition of an organism”

Question 117

“Hominids

Answer 117

any member of the family Hominidae, including all species of Australopithecus and Homo.”

Question 118

“Hominoids

Answer 118

members of the superfamily Hominoidea, which includes humans, all living apes, and numerous extinct ape and humanlike species from the Miocene [an epoch from 20 to 5 mya], Pliocene [an epoch from 5 to about 3 mya], and Pleistocene [an epoch from about 3 mln to about 12 thousand years ago] epochs”

Question 119

Homo erectus

Answer 119

(“upright man”) is an extinct species of the genus Homo. It lived from about 1.8 mya to 50-70,000 years ago. Often the early phase, from 1.8 to 1.25 (or 1.6) mya, is considered to be a separate species, Homo ergaster (“working man”).

Question 120

Homo ergaster

Answer 120

(”working man”) is an extinct hominin that lived in eastern and southern Africa from about 1.8 mya to about 1.3 mya. It is one of the earliest known members of the genus Homo and, although it is unclear what genetic influence H. ergaster had on later hominids, it is widely proposed to be the direct ancestor of such later hominids as Homo heidelbergensis, Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis, and Asian Homo erectus

Question 121

Homo floresiensis

Answer 121

Remains of one of the most recently discovered early human species, Homo floresiensis (nicknamed ‘Hobbit’), have so far only been found on the Island of Flores, Indonesia. The fossils of H. floresiensis date to between about 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, and stone tools made by this species date to between about 190,000 and 50,000 years old.”

Question 122

“Homo heidelbergensis

Answer 122

Named after the city of Heidelberg, Germany, where the first fossils were found). “This species lived between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago. These humans evolved in Africa but by 500,000 years ago, some populations were in Europe. They lived and worked in co- operative groups, hunted large animals and made a variety of tools, including stone hand axes and wooden spears set with stone spearheads.

Question 123

Homo neanderthalensis

Answer 123

the Neanderthals) (Named after the Neander Valley, Germany, where the skull was discovered) “Neanderthals were our closest evolutionary relatives. Their ancestors left Africa before modern humans, venturing into Europe as far back as 500,000 years ago, and were still there when our ancestors embarked on the same journey about 70,000 years ago. Neanderthals and modern humans actually lived alongside each other in Europe for several thousand years before Neanderthals vanished some 30,000 years ago. Their disappearance is one of the most enduring mysteries in all of human evolution. Neanderthals were shorter than modern humans, and had barrel chests, stocky limbs, and large noses—traits that were well suited to the frigid climes of Europe during the last Ice Age.”

Question 124

Homo Sapiens

Answer 124

(“wise man,” a term introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758). The only survived species from the genus Homo. Modern humans belong to this species.

Question 125

“Human universals

Answer 125

features that characterize humans all over the world”

Question 126

Intentionality

Answer 126

means the ‘aboutness’ of an organism’s mental states. Mental states are directed toward and represent (are about) internal states or external objects or events. This includes needs and goals, food sources, terrain, other animals, and individuals. Intentionality is a fundamental attribute of the mentality of some animals and of the mental states, including consciousness, of humans. Psychologist Franz Brentano(1874/1973), who introduced this term to psychology, commented, “No physical phenomenon exhibits anything like it [intentionality]. Therefore, we can define mental phenomena by saying that they are those that contain an object intentionally within themselves”

Question 127

Joint intentionality

Answer 127

is the ability of humans to imagine and understand the perspectives and intentions of other human beings. According to the shared intentionality theory (Tomasello, 2014, 2018), joint intentionality emerged within cooperating groups of pre-modern humans. This form of intentionality has three primary features: joint goals, joint attention, and regulation of individual perspectives based on the mutual understanding of these goals and the perspectives of others. In modern life, joint intentionality is discussed concerning groupings such as child-mother or husband- wife interactions; it is also used to define interactions in work or sports teams.

Question 128

Collective intentionality

Answer 128

According to the shared intentionality theory, collective intentionality is the set of cognitive skills that enables modern humans to create sociocultural normative conventions and institutions. These conventions allow group members to coordinate their group activities and execute social control over them. All group members know these cultural common grounds and know that other members also know them. Collective intentionality lies at the basis of modern humans’ cooperative coordination, social cognition, communication, language, and morality

Question 129

“Memes

Answer 129

a term coined by Richard Dawkin to refer to units of cultural information (beliefs and values) transmitted by imitation and teaching”

Question 130

“Modern Homo Sapiens

Answer 130

Human beings that first appear in the fossil record 100 kya [thousand years ago]. Their bodies share some important derived features with present-day humans but not always the cultural traditions, symbolic behavior, and complex technologies of later people”

Question 131

“Natural selection

Answer 131

the process that produces adaptation (See Adaptation). Natural selection is based on three postulates: 1) the availability of resources is limited; 2) organisms vary in the ability to survive and reproduce; and 3) traits that influence survival and reproduction are transmitted from parents to offspring. When these three postulates hold, natural selection produces adaptation”

Question 132

Ontogenesis

Answer 132

(from Greek ont ‘being’ and genesis ‘origin’) is the development of an individual organism from the earliest stages [the fertilization of the egg] to maturity [final adult form]

Question 133

“Phenotype

Answer 133

The morphological and behavioural traits displayed by an organism as a result of the interaction between genotype and the environment”

Question 134

Phylogenesis

Answer 134

(from Greek phulon ‘race’ or ‘tribe’ and genesis ‘origin’) is the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or a group of organisms (Soanes & Stevenson, 2008). In psychology, this term is used to describe the evolutionary emergence of the mental capabilities of the human mind together with the specifically human sociocultural environments.

Question 135

“Social intelligence hypothesis

Answer 135

the hypothesis that the relatively sophisticated cognitive abilities of higher primates are the outcome of selective pressures that favored intelligence as a means to gain advantages in social groups” (Boyd & Silk, 2003, p. A15). This is also known as Machiavellian intelligence and the social brain hypotheses

Question 136

“Theory of mind

Answer 136

the capacity to be aware of the thoughts, knowledge, or perceptions of other individuals. Theory of mind may be a prerequisite for deception, imitation, teaching, and empathy. It is generally thought that humans, and possibly chimpanzees, are the only primates to possess a theory of mind”

Question 137

Universal human nature

Answer 137

a system of human universal mental and behavioural traits that exist in all people all over the world and that constitute their essential characteristics.