Ebook: Origins of the Social Mind: Evolutionary and Developmental Views

During the ? rst few years of life, children acquire knowledge about the relati- ships between their own mental states, their actions, and the social world. This information is then used to understand themselves and others. Humans are born into families, where they are raised and learn to cooperate, compete, and c- municate. We are social creatures, and over the course of development, we learn about people, relationships, social systems, and others’ minds. In addition, not only do we live socially, we think socially as well. However, human adults are not the only creatures to live and think socially. In recent years, sophisticated expe- ments have provided new information about social cognition in human infants and nonhuman animals. In this book, we focus on the developmental and evolutionary origins of the social mind, bringing together the currently segregated views on social cognition in the two ? elds. Ever since the term “theory of mind” was coined by D. Premack nearly 30 years ago, the concept has been the main topic of social cognition research both in developmental psychology and in primatology. However, few attempts have been made to integrate these two research domains. Just recently, researchers from the two areas collaborated to publish a book on this topic, but the volume was little more than a collection of independent papers. This book overcomes that limitation by presenting new data and their implications from both developmental and evolutionary points of view.

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This book focuses on the evolutionary and developmental origins of the social mind, bringing together the currently segregated views on social cognition in the two fields. Ever since the term ''theory of mind'' was coined by D. Premack nearly 30 years ago, the concept has been the main topic of social cognition research both in developmental psychology and in primatology. These two research domains are integrated here by presenting new data on humans, nonhuman primates, and birds - in particular, corvids and a parrot - and their implications from both evolutionary and developmental points of view. The topics covered include the phylogeny of social intelligence and social cognition, and the developing ability by human children to negotiate, to tell a lie, and to understand the mental state of others. Written by leading scientists in the field, this volume will be of particular interest to comparative and developmental psychologists, primatologists, and ethologists.

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This book focuses on the evolutionary and developmental origins of the social mind, bringing together the currently segregated views on social cognition in the two fields. Ever since the term ''theory of mind'' was coined by D. Premack nearly 30 years ago, the concept has been the main topic of social cognition research both in developmental psychology and in primatology. These two research domains are integrated here by presenting new data on humans, nonhuman primates, and birds - in particular, corvids and a parrot - and their implications from both evolutionary and developmental points of view. The topics covered include the phylogeny of social intelligence and social cognition, and the developing ability by human children to negotiate, to tell a lie, and to understand the mental state of others. Written by leading scientists in the field, this volume will be of particular interest to comparative and developmental psychologists, primatologists, and ethologists.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-VIII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Social Intelligence in Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella)....Pages 3-20
Communication Between Mother and Infant Chimpanzees and Its Role in the Evolution of Social Intelligence....Pages 21-38
Primates’ Use of Others’ Gaze....Pages 39-64
How to Build a Scrub-Jay that Reads Minds....Pages 65-97
Cooperation in Keas: Social and Cognitive Factors....Pages 99-119
Front Matter....Pages 121-121
Differences Between Acting as if One Is Experiencing Pain and Acting as if One Is Pretending to Have Pain Among Actors at Three Expertise Levels....Pages 123-140
Homo Negotiatus: Ontogeny of the Unique Ways Humans Own, Share and Reciprocate....Pages 141-156
Little Liars: Origins of Verbal Deception in Children....Pages 157-178
Discovering Mind: Development of Mentalizing in Human Children....Pages 179-198
Emergence of the Social Mind: Two Perspectives....Pages 199-206
Back Matter....Pages 207-211