- UCAS course code
- C800
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Psychology
- Typical A-level offer: AAA including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36 points overall with 6,6,6 at HL, including specific requirements
Course unit details:
Sociality & Communication: Evolutionary Perspectives
Unit code | PSYC31131 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 6 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Humans and other group-living species, such as bees, songbirds, nonhuman primates and dolphins (to name a few) face a number of challenges. Sociality provides benefits to individuals, but also exposes them to conflicts and competition. Understanding how these challenges are resolved is one of the most dynamic areas of research in evolutionary biology and comparative and developmental psychology. This course looks at sociality from an evolutionary perspective and focuses on how animals - humans included - use communication to live and cooperate with others (as well as deceive and manipulate them). It builds on topics discussed in the year 2 course, PSYC21031 (Evolution of Behaviour and Cognition).
Content includes: How language has evolved in humans, how non-linguistic communication evolved in humans and other species, the role of gesturing in communication, the flexibility of vocal signalling in nonhuman animals, the role of language for cognition and communication, the evolution of sociality, and game theoretical approaches to social interactions.
This is an optional Final Year unit for the BSc Psychology programme.
Pre/co-requisites
Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Evolution of Behaviour and Cognition | PSYC21031 | Pre-Requisite | Recommended |
Aims
This unit aims to address the following questions:
- Why live in groups?
- How do animals solve challenges of group living?
- Have humans evolved a unique solution to the problem of cooperation?
- How can game theory help us understand cooperation?
- How does communication figure into the equation?
- How do other animals communicate?
- In what ways is human communication special?
- How do humans learn to communicate and to read others' intentions?
- What is the role of imitation in communication?
- What is the relationship between gestures and speaking in human evolution and development?
- How does communication aid cooperation, and how does cooperation facilitate the evolution of communication?
- What is culture, why is it important for sociality, and do other species exhibit it?
Syllabus
Teaching and learning methods
This course will include:
- 11 x 2-hour lectures
- 11 x 1-hour small group seminars/reading groups
Lecture content (e.g., lecture recordings through the University Lecture Capture), supplementary reading and resources, and a monitored discussion board will be provided.
Feedback will be provided on the coursework essay before research proposal.
Knowledge and understanding
- Identify and discuss the role of evolution and culture in communication and language, the role of language and other forms of communication on the emergence of cooperation and sociality.
- Reflect on the content of empirical research and extract and summarize key points
- Synthesise literature on the cognitive requirements for evolving language and social living.
Intellectual skills
- Explain the ethical and methodological issues related to testing non-humans, children, and participants from diverse groups (e.g., hunter-gatherer communities).
- Identify open questions that can be addressed with empirical research and devise ways to effectively answer those questions in a convincing manner.
- Critically evaluate different, sometimes conflicting theories, on the evolution of language in humans and whether language, or components in it, exist in other animals and whether sociality is uniquely human and universal.
Practical skills
- Independently gather and select the most relevant information from a body of work through online and library sources.
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Engage in group discussions and make contributions to a collective goal.
- Demonstrate and improve critical thinking via group discussions.
- Work in a self-directed manner as an independent learner to achieve stated goals
- Produce a written evaluation of research for an educated audience using concise and persuasive arguments.
Assessment methods
Assessment task | length | How and when feedback is provided | Weithing within unit (if relevant) |
1 x coursework assignment | 3 pages | Students will receive a grade and written feedback 20 working days after the final submission deadline. | 50% |
1 x research proposal (released in term time, submitted during the exam period) | 1 x 3-page research proposal | Students will receive a grade and written feedback 20 working days after the final submission deadline. | 50% |
Feedback methods
Students will receive a grade and written feedback 20 working days after the final submission deadline.
Recommended reading
- Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2008). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? 30 years later. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12, 187-192.
- Davies, N. B., Krebs, J. R., & West, S. A. (2012). An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology (4th ed.). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Hauser, M. D. (1996). The Evolution of Communication. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Herrmann, E., Call, J., Hernández-Lloreda, M. V., Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2007). Humans have evolved specialized skills of social cognition: The cultural intelligence hypothesis. Science, 317, 1360-1366.
- Jensen, K. (2012). Social regard: Evolving a psychology of cooperation. In J. Mitani, J. Call, P. Kappeler, R. Palombit & J. Silk (Eds.), The Evolution of Primate Societies. Chicago, USA: Chicago University Press.
- Lieven, E. (in press). Language acquisition as a cultural process. In P.Richerson & M. Christiansen (eds.) Cultural Evolution. Ernst Strüngmann Forum (available on request) Marler, P., & Slabbekoorn, H. (2004). Nature's Music: The Science of Birdsong. London, UK: Elsevier Academic Press.
- Searcy, W. A., & Nowicki, S. (2005). The Evolution of Animal Communication: Reliability
and Deception in Signaling Systems. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Tomasello, M. (2008). Origins of Human Communication. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Lectures | 22 |
Seminars | 11 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
---|---|
Alissa Ferry | Unit coordinator |