180-Minute Symposium

180-086

The Last Piece of Darwin's Puzzle: The Evolution of the Social Mind

Session Start/End Time:

Friday, Feb 13, 2009, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

HRC Crystal A

Darwin was convinced that natural selection could explain not only the modification of anatomical characteristics, but also the evolution of behavioral and cognitive traits. In fact, his greatest challenge was to provide evidence for evolutionary continuity between the behavior and the mental capacities of humans and those of other animals. Comparative and evolutionary psychologists have recently gained many new insights into the evolution of human social, communicative, and cognitive abilities. This symposium will provide an overview of recent advances in our understanding of human social behavior and cognition from a comparative and evolutionary perspective. The first three presentations will address the evolutionary continuities and discontinuities between humans and other primates in their complex social behavior and their ability to communicate by facial expressions, vocalizations, and language. The fourth presentation will illustrate some key evolutionary adaptations of the human social mind and their underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. The last two presentations will address the evolutionary underpinnings of our ability to form social bonds and our sexual attraction to other individuals. This symposium brings together different perspectives on the evolution of the human social mind and integrates the contributions made by different disciplines such as comparative and evolutionary psychology, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, and linguistics and gender studies.

Organized by:

Dario Maestripieri, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Presentations:

  Symposium Organizer--Dario Maestripieri, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

  The Evolution of Primate Social Intelligence--Dario Maestripieri, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

  The Evolution of Emotion and Emotional Expressions in Humans and Other Primates--Lisa A. Parr, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

  The Evolution of Language--Robert M. Seyfarth, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

  The Evolution of Human Social Cognition--Debra Lieberman, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL

  Evolutionary Origins and Physiological Substrates of Social Bonds--Sue Carter, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

  The Evolution of Human Sexual Orientation--Michael Bailey, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL