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New Thinking: Advances in the Study of Human Cognitive EvolutionAuthor: Oxford University
An interdisciplinary conference focusing on new ideas and discoveries in research on the evolution of human cognition The conference focuses on genetic, developmental, and socio-cultural processes that have played a particularly significant role in the evolution of human cognition, and on uniquely human cognitive achievements in domains such as causal understanding, language, social learning, theory of mind and meta-cognition. The event was supported by All Souls College, The British Academy, Guarantors of Brain, and Magdalen College's Calleva Centre, and took place on 23rd and 24th June 2011. Language: en Genres: Education, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Social Brain on the Internet
Tuesday, 23 August, 2011
In primates and humans alike, the number of social relationships an individual can have is constrained in part by its social cognitive competences and in part by the time available to invest in face-to-face interaction. I will show that time, in particular, has a significant effect on the quality and stability of social relationships. If the quality of a relationship is a function of the time invested in it, then we might expect a technology that allows an individual to cut through the time constraints inherent in face-to-face interaction will allow larger social networks to be maintained. Social networking media on the Internet provide one obvious possibility in this respect. I will review evidence suggesting that the Internet does not (and cannot) help us to widen our social horizons, and will show why. Presented by Robin Dunbar (Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK).
