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What makes social abilities sophisticated? Not recursive mentalising.

Ian A Apperly1

  • 1Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, https://ror.org/03angcq70University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK i.a.apperly@bham.ac.uk https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/psychology/apperly-ian.

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Dunbar's theory of social sophistication relies on recursive mentalizing, but lacks strong evidence. This study highlights limitations in his account and the broader understanding of human social cognition.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Social Neuroscience

Background:

  • Dunbar's theory proposes that increasing levels of mentalizing (theory of mind) explain human social sophistication.
  • This recursive mentalizing is posited as a key evolutionary step in human social development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the evidential basis for Dunbar's claims regarding recursive mentalizing and social sophistication.
  • To identify limitations in Dunbar's account and the current understanding of human social cognition.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and critical analysis of existing evidence supporting Dunbar's theory.
  • Examination of studies on mentalizing and social complexity in humans and primates.

Main Results:

  • The evidential basis for Dunbar's claim of progressively higher levels of recursive mentalizing is found to be weak.
  • Current research does not conclusively support the direct link between high-order recursion and social sophistication as proposed.

Conclusions:

  • Dunbar's theory, while influential, may oversimplify the mechanisms driving human social sophistication.
  • Further research is needed to develop more robust explanations for the evolution of complex social cognition.