Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences· 2012Q1
Social complexity as a proximate and ultimate factor in communicative complexity
- 591citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2012year
Short summary
Social complexity, characterized by frequent, varied interactions within networks, drives the evolution of complex communication systems with more distinct elements and information content.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Social complexity involves frequent, multi-contextual interactions with many individuals.
- Complex communication systems have more distinct elements and higher information content.
- The social complexity hypothesis suggests social structure drives communication evolution.
- It is a potential factor in human language origins.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The 'social complexity hypothesis' for communication posits that groups with complex social systems require more complex communicative systems to regulate interactions and relations among group members. Complex social systems, compared with simple social systems, are those in which individuals frequently interact in many different contexts with many different individuals, and often repeatedly interact with many of the same individuals in networks over time. Complex communicative systems, compared with simple communicative systems, are those that contain a large number of structurally and functionally distinct elements or possess a high amount of bits of information. Here, we describe some of the historical arguments that led to the social complexity hypothesis, and review evidence in support of the hypothesis. We discuss social complexity as a driver of communication and possible causal factor in human language origins. Finally, we discuss some of the key current limitations to the social complexity hypothesis-the lack of tests against alternative hypotheses for communicative complexity and evidence corroborating the hypothesis from modalities other than the vocal signalling channel.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 2012 · DOI ↗
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Field: Cultural Studies
Cultural StudiesSocial Sciences