Speaker: Dr Esther Herrmann, University of Portsmouth
Abstract
In comparison to other animals, humans possess unique social cognitive skills allowing engagement in a remarkable degree of collaboration (Herrmann et al., 2007; 2010).
Heightened cooperative abilities, prosociality and an exceptional range of social relationships have been suggested as key to human evolutionary success (Fiske, 1992; Levinson, 2006; Tomasello, 2016).
The goal of my research is to investigate the roots of human cooperation and self-control.
By using comparative methods to study the ontogeny of children from different cultural groups and by comparing humans with their nearest primate relatives, the non-human great apes, I am able to draw conclusions about the evolution of human cooperation and self-control, to investigate its cultural basis and to identify developmental stages for our unique human behavior.
In particular, I will present work on how human children and great apes self-regulate and how trust, risk preferences and social relationships play a role in solving social cooperative dilemmas.
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