Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Results from Reindl <i>et al</i>. (2025) support rather than challenge the sequence hypothesis.

Royal Society open science·2025

Same author

No model-based learning with a sequence bottleneck: response to Jacobs et al.

Trends in cognitive sciences·2025

Same author

Sequences and animal intelligence.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025

Same author

A sequence bottleneck for animal intelligence and language?

Trends in cognitive sciences·2024

Same author

Women's rights in democratic transitions: A global sequence analysis, 1900-2012.

European journal of political research·2024

Same author

Sequence representation as an early step in the evolution of language.

PLoS computational biology·2023

Same journal

Cat colonies reshape the abundance and body size of lizards.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Visual signal dynamicity shapes detectability in the wild: an experiment with a mate-searching butterfly.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Transient marine species disproportionately expand the morphospace of North American continental freshwater fishes.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

An unrecognized fine-scale host-plant adaptation in a leaf miner: correct dorsoventral egg orientation is essential for successful leaf entry.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Alpine adaptation drives rapid colour evolution in a Batesian mimic.

Biology letters·2026

Same journal

Song but not colour divergence constrains hybridization in birds.

Biology letters·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Improved Protocol For Laser Microdissection Of Human Pancreatic Islets From Surgical Specimens

Improved Protocol For Laser Microdissection Of Human Pancreatic Islets From Surgical Specimens

Published on: January 6, 2013

'Dunbar's number' deconstructed.

Patrik Lindenfors^1,2, Andreas Wartel², Johan Lind²

¹Institute for Futures Studies, Box 591, 101 31 Stockholm, Sweden.

Biology Letters

|May 5, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Dunbar's number suggests humans can maintain 150 relationships. However, statistical analyses show this cognitive limit is not supported, with estimates varying widely and confidence intervals too broad to be meaningful.

Keywords:

brain evolution mammals phylogenetic comparative studies primates social evolution

More Related Videos

A Rapid, Multiplex Dual Reporter IgG and IgM SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Assay for a Multiplexed Bead-Based Flow Analysis System

A Rapid, Multiplex Dual Reporter IgG and IgM SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Assay for a Multiplexed Bead-Based Flow Analysis System

Published on: April 6, 2021

Conversion of a Capture ELISA to a Luminex xMAP Assay using a Multiplex Antibody Screening Method

Conversion of a Capture ELISA to a Luminex xMAP Assay using a Multiplex Antibody Screening Method

Published on: July 6, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Improved Protocol For Laser Microdissection Of Human Pancreatic Islets From Surgical Specimens

Improved Protocol For Laser Microdissection Of Human Pancreatic Islets From Surgical Specimens

Published on: January 6, 2013

A Rapid, Multiplex Dual Reporter IgG and IgM SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Assay for a Multiplexed Bead-Based Flow Analysis System

A Rapid, Multiplex Dual Reporter IgG and IgM SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Assay for a Multiplexed Bead-Based Flow Analysis System

Published on: April 6, 2021

Conversion of a Capture ELISA to a Luminex xMAP Assay using a Multiplex Antibody Screening Method

Conversion of a Capture ELISA to a Luminex xMAP Assay using a Multiplex Antibody Screening Method

Published on: July 6, 2012

Area of Science:

Evolutionary anthropology
Cognitive science
Primatology

Background:

The popular concept of Dunbar's number posits a cognitive limit of approximately 150 stable social relationships for humans.
This number is derived from the relationship between neocortex size and group size in primates.

Purpose of the Study:

To statistically evaluate the validity of Dunbar's number as a cognitive limit for human social group size.
To investigate the reliability of using primate neocortex size regressions to predict human social capacity.

Main Methods:

Analysis of complementary datasets using Bayesian phylogenetic methods.
Application of generalized least-squares phylogenetic methods.
Examination of statistical support for a fixed cognitive limit on human group size.

Main Results:

Different analytical methods produced widely divergent estimates for average human group size (e.g., 69-109 and 16-42).
Enormous 95% confidence intervals were associated with these estimates (e.g., 4-520 and 2-336).
The wide confidence intervals indicate the futility of specifying a single number for cognitive limits.

Conclusions:

The data do not support deriving a definitive cognitive limit on human group size from neocortex size regressions.
The concept of Dunbar's number, as a precise cognitive limit, lacks robust statistical backing.
Further research is needed to understand the complexities of human social cognition and group size dynamics.