Humans Have Evolved Specialized Skills of Social Cognition: The Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis (original) (raw)

Abstract

Humans have many cognitive skills not possessed by their nearest primate relatives. The cultural intelligence hypothesis argues that this is mainly due to a species-specific set of social-cognitive skills, emerging early in ontogeny, for participating and exchanging knowledge in cultural groups. We tested this hypothesis by giving a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests to large numbers of two of humans' closest primate relatives, chimpanzees and orangutans, as well as to 2.5-year-old human children before literacy and schooling. Supporting the cultural intelligence hypothesis and contradicting the hypothesis that humans simply have more “general intelligence,” we found that the children and chimpanzees had very similar cognitive skills for dealing with the physical world but that the children had more sophisticated cognitive skills than either of the ape species for dealing with the social world.

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We thank L. Pharoah, R. Atencia, K. Brown, and the Jane Goodall Institute USA and staff of Tchimpounga Sanctuary, as well as L. Ajarova, D. Cox, R. Ssunna, and the trustees and staff of Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, for their enthusiasm, help, and support. We also thank B. M. Galdikas and the staff of the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine in Pasir Panjang for their great help and support. In particular, we appreciate the hard work of the animal caregivers from the three sanctuaries: J. Maboto, B. Moumbaka, A. Sitou, M. Makaya, B. Bissafi, C. Ngoma, W. Bouity, J. A. Tchikaya, L. Bibimbou, A. Makosso, C. Boukindi, G. Nzaba, B. Ngoma, P. Kibirege, I. Mujaasi, S. Nyandwi L. Mugisha, M. Musumba, G. Muyingo, P. Mekok, P. Usai, and P. Yoyong. We also appreciate the permission from the Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology and the Uganda Wildlife Authority, as well as the Congolese Ministere de la Recherche Scientifique et de l'Innovation Technique, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry for allowing us to conduct our research in their countries. Special thanks go to A. Loose, M. Schäfer, K. Greve, E. Graf, V. Wobber, J. Cissewski, and S. Hastings for their enormous help with organizing, data collection and coding. In addition, we thank J. Uebel, L. Jorschik, A. Gampe, H. Roethel, K. Haberl, A. P. Melis, J. Riedel, D. Hanus, S. Girlich, P. Jahn, C. Gerisch, S. Rolle, A. Buergermeister, L. Gieselmann, D. Lagner, J. Kramareva, A. Misch, S. Helmig, E. Scholl, and A. Rosati for their various help to make this study successful. Thanks to D. Haun for helpful comments on the manuscript. We also thank the parents and children who participated in the study. The research of B.H. is supported by a Sofja Kovalevskaja award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. The research of E.H. is supported by a grant from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes.