Evolution Of Social Cognition | Evolution Of The Brain - Episode 7

Humans as well as many animals are social species, with their own identities and personalities. How did social cognition and personalities evolve?
Organisms interacting with each other is of all time. Even some bacteria species perform sexual reproduction to spread genes. Sexual reproduction is also one of the first social actions in multicellular organisms. Another example of early evolution of social behavior is the formation of groups. This means being safer but also streamlining your behavior to that of others.
Even modern fish species display rather complex social behavior, showing that sociality can be achieved in small brains. Nevertheless, the highest social cognition can be observed in some bird species and in primates. Indeed, corvids display social skills that are comparable to that of apes. They mate for life and form friendships and rivalries with other group members.
Similar social structures can be observed in primates. Macaques have a hierarchical structure, but members of lower rank try to politic their way up the ladder. Humans behave similarly, but our social cognition is further enhanced by our ability to speak. Language affects the way we behave, our personality and identity.
This was the final episode of the evolution of the brain series. We thank you all very much for watching!
Time stamps:
0:00 What is social cognition, identity and personality?
2:00 First interacting organisms: Sexual reproduction
3:03 Grouping and social cognition in fish and invertebrates
6:05 Social behavior in birds (corvids)
7:00 Social behavior in primates
9:00 Social behavior in humans, language and Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
References/resources:
Boucherie, P. H., Loretto, M. C., Massen, J., & Bugnyar, T. (2019). What constitutes "social complexity" and "social intelligence" in birds? Lessons from ravens. Behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 73(1), 12. doi.org/10.1007/s00265-018-26...
Braun, A., & Bugnyar, T. (2012). Social bonds and rank acquisition in raven nonbreeder aggregations. Animal behaviour, 84(6), 1507-1515. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.201...
Bshary, R., Gingins, S., & Vail, A. L. (2014). Social cognition in fishes. Trends in cognitive sciences, 18(9), 465-471. doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.0...
Clinton R. Sanders (1990) ,"The Animal 'Other': Self Definition, Social Identity and Companion Animals", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 17, eds. Marvin E. Goldberg, Gerald Gorn, and Richard W. Pollay, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 662-668.
Ko J. (2017). Neuroanatomical Substrates of Rodent Social Behavior: The Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Its Projection Patterns. Frontiers in neural circuits, 11, 41. doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2017.00041
Leary, M.R., & Buttermore, N.R. (2019). The Evolution of the Human Self: Tracing the Natural History of Self-Awareness. Journal for the theory of social behavior, 33(4), 365-404. doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-5914.2...
Medina, L., Abellán, A., & Desfilis, E. (2019). Evolution of Pallial Areas and Networks Involved in Sociality: Comparison Between Mammals and Sauropsids. Frontiers in physiology, 10, 894. doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00894
Tang-Martinez Z. (2001). The mechanisms of kin discrimination and the evolution of kin recognition in vertebrates: a critical re-evaluation. Behavioural processes, 53(1-2), 21-40. doi.org/10.1016/s0376-6357(00...
Narrated by: Miles Wischnewski
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[@ohelno]

Really well done series. Simple, smart, and satisfying.

[@real.psyched]

Glad you like it!

[@yanuzz3000]

Thank you for this edifying series, I've learned a lot and really like the way and style you presented it. I'll let it sink in and give it a rewatch in a month or so. :)
I also appreciate that you put references in the description so that it's easy to delve deeper into interesting aspects.

[@real.psyched]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@hoffmanitochka]

👍👍👍