Records |
Author |
Zhou, W.-X.; Sornette, D.; Hill, R.A.; Dunbar, R.I.M. |
Title |
Discrete hierarchical organization of social group sizes |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
272 |
Issue |
1561 |
Pages |
439-444 |
Keywords |
Anthropology, Cultural; *Group Structure; Humans; *Models, Biological; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment |
Abstract |
The 'social brain hypothesis' for the evolution of large brains in primates has led to evidence for the coevolution of neocortical size and social group sizes, suggesting that there is a cognitive constraint on group size that depends, in some way, on the volume of neural material available for processing and synthesizing information on social relationships. More recently, work on both human and non-human primates has suggested that social groups are often hierarchically structured. We combine data on human grouping patterns in a comprehensive and systematic study. Using fractal analysis, we identify, with high statistical confidence, a discrete hierarchy of group sizes with a preferred scaling ratio close to three: rather than a single or a continuous spectrum of group sizes, humans spontaneously form groups of preferred sizes organized in a geometrical series approximating 3-5, 9-15, 30-45, etc. Such discrete scale invariance could be related to that identified in signatures of herding behaviour in financial markets and might reflect a hierarchical processing of social nearness by human brains. |
Address |
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0962-8452 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:15734699 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
549 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Barrett, L.; Henzi, P. |
Title |
The social nature of primate cognition |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
272 |
Issue |
1575 |
Pages |
1865-1875 |
Keywords |
Animals; Brain/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; *Evolution; Intelligence/*physiology; Primates/*physiology; *Social Behavior |
Abstract |
The hypothesis that the enlarged brain size of the primates was selected for by social, rather than purely ecological, factors has been strongly influential in studies of primate cognition and behaviour over the past two decades. However, the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis, also known as the social brain hypothesis, tends to emphasize certain traits and behaviours, like exploitation and deception, at the expense of others, such as tolerance and behavioural coordination, and therefore presents only one view of how social life may shape cognition. This review outlines work from other relevant disciplines, including evolutionary economics, cognitive science and neurophysiology, to illustrate how these can be used to build a more general theoretical framework, incorporating notions of embodied and distributed cognition, in which to situate questions concerning the evolution of primate social cognition. |
Address |
School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. louiseb@liv.ac.uk |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0962-8452 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:16191591 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
2086 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Brilot, B.O.; Johnstone, R.A. |
Title |
The limits to cost-free signalling of need between relatives |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
270 |
Issue |
1519 |
Pages |
1055-1060 |
Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Birds/physiology; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior |
Abstract |
Theoretical models have demonstrated the possibility of stable cost-free signalling of need between relatives. The stability of these cost-free equilibria depends on the indirect fitness cost of cheating and deceiving a donor into giving away resources. We show that this stability is highly sensitive to the distribution of need among signallers and receivers. In particular, cost-free signalling is likely to prove stable only if there is very large variation in need (such that the least-needy individuals stand to gain much less than the most-needy individuals from additional resources). We discuss whether these conditions are likely to be found in altricial avian breeding systems--the most intensively studied instance of signalling of need between relatives. We suggest that cost-free signalling is more likely to prove stable and will provide parents with more information during the earlier phases of chick growth, when parents can more easily meet the demands of a brood (and chicks are more likely to reach satiation). Later, informative yet cost-free signalling is unlikely to persist. |
Address |
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. bob21@cam.ac.uk |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0962-8452 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:12803895 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
558 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Joffe, T.H.; Dunbar, R.I. |
Title |
Visual and socio-cognitive information processing in primate brain evolution |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1997 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
264 |
Issue |
1386 |
Pages |
1303-1307 |
Keywords |
Animals; Brain/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Cognition/physiology; *Evolution; Geniculate Bodies/anatomy & histology/physiology; Humans; Mental Processes/physiology; Neocortex/physiology; Primates/anatomy & histology/*physiology/*psychology; *Social Behavior; Visual Cortex/anatomy & histology/physiology |
Abstract |
Social group size has been shown to correlate with neocortex size in primates. Here we use comparative analyses to show that social group size is independently correlated with the size of non-V1 neocortical areas, but not with other more proximate components of the visual system or with brain systems associated with emotional cueing (e.g. the amygdala). We argue that visual brain components serve as a social information 'input device' for socio-visual stimuli such as facial expressions, bodily gestures and visual status markers, while the non-visual neocortex serves as a 'processing device' whereby these social cues are encoded, interpreted and associated with stored information. However, the second appears to have greater overall importance because the size of the V1 visual area appears to reach an asymptotic size beyond which visual acuity and pattern recognition may not improve significantly. This is especially true of the great ape clade (including humans), that is known to use more sophisticated social cognitive strategies. |
Address |
School of Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0962-8452 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:9332015 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
2095 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Cheney, D.; Seyfarth, R.; Smuts, B. |
Title |
Social relationships and social cognition in nonhuman primates |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1986 |
Publication |
Science (New York, N.Y.) |
Abbreviated Journal |
Science |
Volume |
234 |
Issue |
4782 |
Pages |
1361-1366 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Female; Male; Pair Bond; Primates/*physiology; *Social Behavior; Social Dominance; Social Perception |
Abstract |
Complex social relationships among nonhuman primates appear to contribute to individual reproductive success. Experiments with and behavioral observations of natural populations suggest that sophisticated cognitive mechanisms may underlie primate social relationships. Similar capacities are usually less apparent in the nonsocial realm, supporting the view that at least some aspects of primate intelligence evolved to solve the challenges of interacting with conspecifics. |
Address |
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0036-8075 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:3538419 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
349 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Whiten, A. |
Title |
Social complexity and social intelligence |
Type |
Conference Article |
Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Novartis Foundation Symposium |
Abbreviated Journal |
Novartis Found Symp |
Volume |
233 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
185-96; discussion 196-201 |
Keywords |
Animals; Brain/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Humans; *Intelligence/physiology; Learning; Models, Psychological; Primates; *Social Behavior; Social Problems |
Abstract |
When we talk of the 'nature of intelligence', or any other attribute, we may be referring to its essential structure, or to its place in nature, particularly the function it has evolved to serve. Here I examine both, from the perspective of the evolution of intelligence in primates. Over the last 20 years, the Social (or 'Machiavellian') Intelligence Hypothesis has gained empirical support. Its core claim is that the intelligence of primates is primarily an adaptation to the special complexities of primate social life. In addition to this hypothesis about the function of intellect, a secondary claim is that the very structure of intelligence has been moulded to be 'social' in character, an idea that presents a challenge to orthodox views of intelligence as a general-purpose capacity. I shall outline the principal components of social intelligence and the environment of social complexity it engages with. This raises the question of whether domain specificity is an appropriate characterization of social intelligence and its subcomponents, like theory of mind. As a counter-argument to such specificity I consider the hypothesis that great apes exhibit a cluster of advanced cognitive abilities that rest on a shared capacity for second-order mental representation. |
Address |
School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JU, UK |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
1528-2511 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:11276903 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
2084 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Flack, J.C.; de Waal, F.B.M.; Krakauer, D.C. |
Title |
Social structure, robustness, and policing cost in a cognitively sophisticated species |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
The American Naturalist |
Abbreviated Journal |
Am Nat |
Volume |
165 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
E126-139 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Cognition; Conflict (Psychology); Female; Macaca nemestrina/*physiology; Male; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior |
Abstract |
Conflict management is one of the primary requirements for social complexity. Of the many forms of conflict management, one of the rarest and most interesting is third-party policing, or intervening impartially to control conflict. Third-party policing should be hard to evolve because policers personally pay a cost for intervening, while the benefits are diffused over the whole group. In this study we investigate the incidence and costs of policing in a primate society. We report quantitative evidence of non-kin policing in the nonhuman primate, the pigtailed macaque. We find that policing is effective at reducing the intensity of or terminating conflict when performed by the most powerful individuals. We define a measure, social power consensus, that predicts effective low-cost interventions by powerful individuals and ineffective, relatively costly interventions by low-power individuals. Finally, we develop a simple probabilistic model to explore whether the degree to which policing can effectively reduce the societal cost of conflict is dependent on variance in the distribution of power. Our data and simple model suggest that third-party policing effectiveness and cost are dependent on power structure and might emerge only in societies with high variance in power. |
Address |
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA. jflack@santafe.edu |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
1537-5323 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:15795848 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
168 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Sundaresan, S.R.; Fischhoff, I.R.; Dushoff, J.; Rubenstein, D.I. |
Title |
Network metrics reveal differences in social organization between two fission-fusion species, Grevy's zebra and onager |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Oecologia |
Abbreviated Journal |
Oecologia |
Volume |
151 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
140-149 |
Keywords |
Analysis of Variance; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Environment; Equidae/*physiology; Female; India; Kenya; Male; *Models, Theoretical; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment |
Abstract |
For species in which group membership frequently changes, it has been a challenge to characterize variation in individual interactions and social structure. Quantifying this variation is necessary to test hypotheses about ecological determinants of social patterns and to make predictions about how group dynamics affect the development of cooperative relationships and transmission processes. Network models have recently become popular for analyzing individual contacts within a population context. We use network metrics to compare populations of Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) and onagers (Equus hemionus khur). These closely related equids, previously described as having the same social system, inhabit environments differing in the distribution of food, water, and predators. Grevy's zebra and onagers are one example of many sets of coarsely similar fission-fusion species and populations, observed elsewhere in other ungulates, primates, and cetaceans. Our analysis of the population association networks reveals contrasts consistent with their distinctive environments. Grevy's zebra individuals are more selective in their association choices. Grevy's zebra form stable cliques, while onager associations are more fluid. We find evidence that females associate assortatively by reproductive state in Grevy's zebra but not in onagers. The current approach demonstrates the utility of network metrics for identifying fine-grained variation among individuals and populations in association patterns. From our analysis, we can make testable predictions about behavioral mechanisms underlying social structure and its effects on transmission processes. |
Address |
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. ssundare@princeton.edu |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0029-8549 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:16964497 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
1863 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Dzieweczynski, T.L.; Eklund, A.C.; Rowland, W.J. |
Title |
Male 11-ketotestosterone levels change as a result of being watched in Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
General and comparative endocrinology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Gen Comp Endocrinol |
Volume |
147 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
184-189 |
Keywords |
Aggression; Animals; Female; Fishes/*blood; Male; Nesting Behavior; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Testosterone/*analogs & derivatives/blood |
Abstract |
This study investigated the effects of nesting status and the presence of an audience on 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) levels in male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Prior studies have demonstrated that both nesting status, an indicator of territory-holding power and reproductive state, and the sex of a conspecific audience lead to differences in male behavior during aggressive encounters. Since behavioral changes have already been demonstrated, we chose to investigate whether 11KT levels were also influenced by nesting status and audience presence as 11KT both stimulates, and is stimulated by, reproductive and aggressive behaviors in male teleosts. Male 11KT levels were measured from water samples taken from containers holding fish both before and after interaction. Males interacted under three treatment conditions: no audience, female audience, and male audience. Within these treatments were two nest paradigms: both males had nests or neither male had a nest. 11KT levels varied depending on nesting status and audience type. In general, 11KT levels were lower in interacting males when a female audience was present or when males had nests. Overall, 11KT showed increases or decreases as aggression increased or decreased, as shown by already established behavioral findings [see Dzieweczynski T.L., Green T.M., Earley R.L., Rowland W.J., 2005. Audience effect is context dependent in Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Behav. Ecol. 16, 1025-1030; Doutrelant, C., McGregor, P.K., Oliveira, R.F., 2001. Effect of an audience on intrasexual communication in male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Behav. Ecol. 12, 283-286.]. Our results suggest that 11KT levels are influenced by reproductive status, as indicated by nest ownership, and audience presence and are most likely modulated by territorial behavior and social environment. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of New England, Biddeford, ME 04005, USA. tdzieweczynski@une.edu |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0016-6480 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:16473353 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
502 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Gauvin, S.; Giraldeau, L.-A. |
Title |
Nutmeg mannikins ( Lonchura punctulata) reduce their feeding rates in response to simulated competition |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Oecologia |
Abbreviated Journal |
Oecologia |
Volume |
139 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
150-156 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Feeding Behavior; Population Density; *Social Behavior; *Songbirds |
Abstract |
Group feeding animals experience a number of competitive foraging costs that may result in a lowered feeding rate. It is important to distinguish between reductions in feeding rates that are caused by reduced food availability and physical interactions among foragers from those caused by the mere presence of foraging companions that may be self-imposed in order to obtain some benefit of group membership. Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris) reduce their feeding rates when in the company of simulated competitors located in an adjacent cage that cannot affect the food availability or interact with the forager. In the present study, we investigate whether the presence of simulated competitors in another species of passerine, nutmeg mannikins ( Lonchura punctulata), can result in self-imposed reductions in feeding rates. When feeding in the company of simulated competitors, mannikins spent more non-foraging time near them, fed more slowly, reduced travel times between patches, reduced their scanning time and pecked more slowly. These results provide evidence that simulated competitors induce a reduction in pecking rate: behavioural interference. These self-imposed responses to competitors may have resulted from attempts to remain close to the non-feeding companions. Such self-imposed reductions in feeding rates may be a widespread yet generally unrecognised foraging cost to group feeding individuals. |
Address |
Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0029-8549 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:14722748 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
2133 |
Permanent link to this record |