(University of Queensland)
The Social Leap
In this talk I discuss how our psychology was shaped by the “social leap” our ancestors made from the rainforest to the savannah. In their efforts to survive on the open grassland, our ancestors prioritized teamwork over physical prowess, creating a new form of social intelligence that set the stage for our rise to the top of the food chain. I highlight a few key moments in our evolutionary history over the last six million years to suggest how events in our distant past guide our lives today, and how they can facilitate our understanding of social functioning.
The colloquium will be held in Psychology Building 035.