Storytelling as Adaptive Collective Sensemaking

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Anthropology
• Cognitive Science
• Cultural Studies

Background:

• Storytelling is fundamental to culture and human societies.
• Existing theories propose storytelling functions in narrator manipulation, information transmission, and social bonding.
• The evolutionary adaptive significance of storytelling requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate existing hypotheses on the adaptive functions of storytelling.
• To identify the unique adaptive value of storytelling beyond general language use.
• To propose a novel framework for understanding storytelling's evolutionary role.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of experimental and ethnographic studies.
• Comparative analysis of different theoretical accounts of storytelling.
• Synthesis of evidence supporting or refuting proposed functions.

Main Results:

• Evidence for narrator manipulation, information transmission, and social bonding is substantial but not always specific to storytelling.
• Storytelling's unique adaptive value is linked to processing non-routine, uncertain, or novel situations.
• Storytelling facilitates collaborative skill development and knowledge sharing.

Conclusions:

• Storytelling's primary adaptive function is sense-making in complex situations.
• It enhances group cohesion by reinforcing identity and clarifying intergroup dynamics.
• Storytelling is crucial for cultural evolution and adaptation to novel environments.