ABSTRACT
In recent years, researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology have proposed that the distinctive nature of human cognition is the product of our evolution as social beings; we are born with “social brains” that enable us to manage complex social relationships in ways other animals cannot. I suggest that the concept of the social brain is potentially useful for understanding the dynamic, iterative relationship between individual and collective thinking, and the role of language in mediating that relationship. However, I argue that its current conceptualization is too narrow and individualistic; the concept should be redefined to take account of the distinctive human capacity for thinking collectively. I suggest that Vygotskian sociocultural theory offers a framework for this reconceptualization, which would then enable us to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between “intermental” (collective) activity and “intramental” (individual) intellectual activity and development. I use this theoretical base to propose three explanations for the observed effects of collaborative learning on individual learning and development.
In 2010 the United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Arts (RSA) organized a seminar entitled The Social Brain and the Curriculum, which brought together researchers from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, computer-related studies, and educational research to share their views on this matter. One of the key issues that emerged was “The brain’s sociality: The brain’s constant orientation to others and the creation of meaning through brains interacting, rather than through the operation of individual internal cognition” (RSA, 2010, p. 2). In that seminar, the neuroscientist Frith took an evolutionary psychology stance to argue that the human brain is designed to enable people to adjust sensitively to one another’s perspectives and 278emotions, so as to enable cooperative activity from which a whole community can benefit (see Wolpert & Frith, 2004). As a contributor to the seminar series, I was heartened to discover that neuroscientists and evolutionary psychologists were interested in social aspects of cognition and in addressing educationally relevant questions. However, the series did not allow any opportunity for the development of these ideas. For example, there were implications for how we could integrate different fields of study, and for how such a unified approach might address educational issues. One of my motivations for writing this article is to try to take these issues further.
The concept of the “social brain” was introduced by the evolutionary anthropologist Dunbar (1998) and has since generated some interesting and imaginative discussion about the relationship between individual mental capacities and social interaction. It represents the view that human intelligence has an intrinsically social quality, in that evolution has equipped us with brains that enable us to operate effectively in complex social networks. By linking cortical functioning, individual thinking, and social interaction, it seems to me that this concept could usefully bring together research in neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, and educational psychology, as well as connecting with other fields such as sociolinguistics and linguistic philosophy. However, I argue that if it is to fulfill that role, the social brain concept needs further development, because the social nature of human cognition has not been properly recognized in its development so far. The main focus of interest in the social brain has been on how individuals cope with the informational and emotional complexity of social life, so as to maximize the achievement of their personal goals. The concept has been strongly linked to evolutionary theory, but only through a narrow focus on the survival value for an individual of being able to understand the behavior and motives of others. No account has been taken of the potential survival value of a cognitive capacity for collaboration. Yet one reason why people engage socially, which can also be linked to human evolutionary success, is so that they can think collectively in order to pursue common goals. I suggest that our brains are “social” in that they have been designed, through evolution, to enable us to reason together and get things done.
Our evolved capacity for collective thinking also enables each new generation to benefit from the past experience of their community, which has given our species survival advantages over competitors. It is widely recognized by psychologists working in developmental and educational fields of inquiry that children learn to make sense of society and their environment by being engaged in dialogue by their carers, drawn into collective activities, and guided in ways of reasoning about experience. The potential capabilities of each child’s social brain are developed through social interaction. However, this recognition does not seem to have permeated discussions of the social brain within cognitive and evolutionary psychology. The crucial role of language in such processes has also not yet been properly accommodated 279within those discussions. I propose a way that an evolutionary account of human origins can be linked to our understanding of the psychological mechanisms that underpin these aspects of human life, and in particular to the social and cognitive processes involved in education. To do so, a theoretical framework is needed for dealing with the relationship between collective thinking and the development of individual cognition – between the “intermental” and the “intramental” – and I suggest this could best be achieved by taking a sociocultural perspective based upon Vygotsky’s work (Vygotsky, 1962, 1978). On this basis, I offer three possible explanations of how intermental activity might influence intramental development and then relate these to findings from several fields of research. A broader conception of the social brain emerges from this discussion, which has implications for future research in education and other fields, as I explain toward the end of the article. But first I consider how the concept of the social brain has emerged from research in evolutionary studies and neuroscience.
