The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 68 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Social Brain: Mind, Language, and Society in Evolutionary Perspective
Abstract
▪ Abstract The social brain (or Machiavellian Intelligence) hypothesis was proposed to explain primates' unusually large brains: It argues that the cognitive demands of living in complexly bonded social groups selected for increases in executive brain (principally neocortex). The evidence for this and alternative hypotheses is reviewed. Although there remain difficulties of interpretation, the bulk of the evidence comes down in favor of the social brain hypothesis. The extent to which the cognitive demands of bonding large intensely social groups involve aspects of social cognition, such as theory of mind, is explored. These findings are then related to the evolution of social group size, language, and culture within the hominid lineage.
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“In the last decades, broad comparative analyses indicated that social interaction drives the evolution of higher cognitive abilities in animals1, 2, supporting the “social brain hypotesis”3.”
From Distinct selective forces and Neanderthal introgression shaped genetic diversity at genes involved in neurodevelopmental disorders (2017) · cites this paper as [1]
Citations
Cites
Pretense and representation: The origins of "theory of mind."
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Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates
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Self-citationCoevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans
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Self-citationThe expensive-tissue hypothesis: The brain and the digestive system in human and primate evolution
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A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder
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Molecular evolution of FOXP2, a gene involved in speech and language
Enard, W., Przeworski, M., Fisher, S. E., Lai, C. S. L., Wiebe, V., Kitano, T., Monaco, A. P., & Pääbo, S. (2002) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01025 · Cited by 1,603
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Self-citationLinked Regularities in the Development and Evolution of Mammalian Brains
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Social intelligence, innovation, and enhanced brain size in primates
Reader, S. M., & Laland, K. N. (2002) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.062041299 · Cited by 1,126
Chimpanzees know what conspecifics do and do not see
Hare, B. A., Call, J., Agnetta, B., & Tomasello, M. (2000) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.1999.1377 · Cited by 1,082
Research works printed but not linked: 7
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel, and is it unique to humans?
Suddendorf, T., & Corballis, M. C. (2007) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x07001975 · Cited by 2,031
Epistemics in Action: Action Formation and Territories of Knowledge
Heritage, J. C. (2012) · Research on Language and Social Interaction · doi:10.1080/08351813.2012.646684 · Cited by 1,666
Ellis (2009) · doi:10.1007/s12110-009-9063-7 · Cited by 1,592
Humans Have Evolved Specialized Skills of Social Cognition: The Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis
Herrmann, E., Call, J., Hernàndez-Lloreda, M. V., Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1146282 · Cited by 1,582
Socially intelligent robots: Dimensions of human-robot interaction
Dautenhahn, K. (2007) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.2004 · Cited by 1,210
Metadata
- Authors
- Dunbar, R. I. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Dunbar, R.I.M.
- ORCID
- Dunbar, R.I.M.
- Venue
- Annual Review of Anthropology
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2003-10
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 163-181
- ISSN
- 0084-6570 (ISSN-L)
- 1545-4290
- OpenAlex
- W2130307024
- Cited by
- 1,068
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 97 · 2020: 62 · 2019: 68 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 59 · 2016: 64 · 2015: 61 · 2014: 51 · 2013: 40 · 2012: 58
- FWCI
- 2.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annual Review of Anthropology (publishedVersion)
- Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) (University of Oxford) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- social brain hypothesis, Machiavellian intelligence, primate brain evolution, neocortex, social cognition, theory of mind, social group size, language evolution, cultural evolution, hominid evolution, social bonding
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