<Article>Did social interactions shape the reflective mind?

Abstract

In recent decades, considerable attention has been paid to the roles played by social factors in the evolution of the human mind. Prominent theorists like David Geary and Keith Stanovich argue that various forms of social interactions have been the main factor behind the evolution of our reflective mind or, as it is called by the dual-process theory, System 2. In this paper I will argue that this account may be challenged by the studies of emotional intelligence (EI) and the neuroimaging studies of strategic thinking. First, only modest correlations would exist between the scores of the EI and IQ tests (a substitute measure for the reflective mind), suggesting that the ability of social/emotional management may not be as closely related to the reflective mind as those theorists would assume. Second, neurological studies found that the brain areas responsible for strategic thinking, which involves the ability of social management, hardly overlap with those activated for reflective thinking. I will conclude that social interactions may have played a less prominent role in the evolution of the reflective mind than currently assumed.