Evolution of Intelligence Flashcards
evolution of cognition theories
neuroecology
sociality
ecology
technical
language/hunting/fire
null hypothesis
what is neuroecology
study of adaptive variation in cognition and brain size
how ecological presures impact difference sin species, sex cognition and brain
sherry 2006 neurecology
selection and brian organization work together; which is why corivds and food storing behaviour have correlations in brain size
critique of neuroecolog
brodin and bodhuis 2008: retested; found less correlations between brain size and food storing birds; maybe instead:
retrieving does not rely on memory
small sample sizes used and unclear variables (degree of size/storing)
or NE is just wrong!
domain specific vs general intelligence?
bird storing behavior might be ‘task specific’ so not ‘a general intelligence’ mechanisms
mery and kawecik 2003 fly experiment
regardless if learnign abillitiy is used or not- it impacts competitive abillity in FLIES
hofmann 1993 encaphalization
species with large brain/boxy size live longer
species with higeh metabolism live shorter
so mammalian longetivity because encephalization and lowed metabolism
extensive brain hypothesis
large brains= slow growth; slow reproduction and long life span in species
tested by aillo and wheeler + isler/van schaik 2009
ailllo and wheller 1995 brain study
brain to relative gut mass highest in humans=
encephalization quotient (brain to body) increases across primate orrders
isler and van schaik 2009 brain study
expensive brain; so brain size is limited to life history in SOME but not ALL mammals
large mammals= need to produce large offspring= longer childhoods
costs of learge brains
energetic demand
reduce energy for locomoiton digestion and reproduction
strategies to overcome costs of large brains
Polyktokous: reduce number of offspring per litter
Monotonous: reduce reproductive effort over longer time
both; reduce fertillity and live longer
population and brain size correlations
risk of local extinction as population decreases as brain mass increases
how is the population-brain size conundrum fixed
alloparenting (Caring and nursing) to compensante for energetic constraints= leads to social brain hypothesis
social brain hypothesis
DUNBAR: priamtes have unsuaully large brains because of complex social systems
human inntelligence comes from solving social problems (relates to reciprocal altruis, deception and coalition)
neocortex size as proxy measure of intlligence!
ecological hypothesis: diet and feeding
DECASIEN et al: primate diet predicts brain size (frugivory primates have larger brain size than folivoorus)
critique of diet hypothesis
fruit eaters and neocortext size does not correlative
extractive foraging and memory hypothesis (ecology) and critque
tool use and spatial mapping use a sign of intelligence; BUT no MAJOR difference in neocortex ratio and other primates use tools
meercats as questioning social complexity and intelligence
small brain capcity but live in large complex groups
also beers/wasps/ with structres
cultural hypothesis
culture and social learning
general intelligence correlates with large brain size; sustained social itneracted leads to longer live and suvivorship (gossiping, grooming, language)
adaptive knowledge–> social learning allows cultural skills and surviival strategies to develop;
from social interactions to learning straetgies
sociale change theory
rleates to TOM; recoprocal alturiism; cheater detection
watson 4 card task selection (toby cosmides)
watson 4 card selection task
demosntrates humans better at ‘social thinking’
language fire and hunting theories
only inhumans
social intelligence theories?
macchievelian intelligence; decieving and detecting decivers + tactical deception (exploiting others)
group living is a congitive challenge; hence social learnign and social intelligence must driv eintlliegence
evidence for social intelligent theory
humans better at social knowledge (watson task)
dunbar: neocortex size and brain size
groooming size increases
decpetion rate increases
coalition rate increases
monogamous mammals vs priamtes and brain size vs birds
monogamous carnivores have larger BS
but more social praimtes have larger BS
birds pair living ahve larger BS
general intelligence idea?
brain size and general intelligence is primate-specific coevolution:
impacted by ecology
chimps and extractive foraging + spatial memory
chimsp remember food locations
‘flowering’
feedign experience
small trees get checked less than big trees (long term spatial memory and mapping)
transfer hypothseis
mental skills honed in social field ranslated to technolocical field (social tools= exploiting othres)
technical intlligence
tool use and brain size (in birds correlate)
innnovation adn tool use and brain VOLUME correlate in primates
social and ecological hypothesis connection?
correlate depending on varying selection pressrues favouring different domains
why did cognitive traits evolve?
co evolution vs general intelligence
general vs cultural intlligence and hermann eta l 2007
humans are ‘‘speciies specific’ domain whereby socioecultural cogntivive skills drive intellignece
general intelligence:
- physical world chimps do equal
socail world: humans do better 2. 5 years onwards
how to measure brain size?
absolute size
relative size
encephalization quotient
neocortex ratio
intrinstic organization
intrinstic organizaiton of brain
vertical cortical neurons
veolocity cortical fibres
cortical cell times (information processin)
birds + intrinstic brain orgnization
small brains= can do smart stuff
RAVENS; organization has dense and small nerve cells which are ‘primate like’
convergent evolution oin corvids and apes of intelligence?
both have:
- tool making–> twigs for making things
- mental time travel—> caching of perished products
- social cognition—> stealer detection
so tools evolved indepdnently in corvids and apes to solve socioecological issues
hence large EQ than predicted and enlarnged prefrontal cortex
what is needed for tactical deception
causal easoning
imagination
flexibllity
rpopspection
insight learning in ravens
pullilng string with some meat in it
