This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Human intelligence is still a bit of an enigma. Researchers have some ideas about why advanced intelligence evolved in humans, but they have not come to a conclusive answer.
One prominent idea is that intelligence serves a social function. In their new study, a group of researchers led by Jonathan Egeland reports additional evidence supporting this idea. According to their research, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, greater intelligence seems to garner more respect, but only when it's applied to tasks that help others.
Proposed explanations for the evolution of advanced intelligence include solving ecological problems related to survival, attracting a mate and human coalitional organization. While intelligence is helpful for solving ecological challenges, like finding food and shelter from harsh environments, the team involved in the new study notes that this still doesn't explain why humans evolved more advanced intelligence than other animals facing the same problems. And while intelligence can help attract a mate, they say that the idea that intelligence evolved for this is not consistent with findings regarding similar cognitive skills across sexes.
The researchers believe that human coalitional organization may have played a bigger role in the evolution of the human brain. Previous research has linked higher cognitive ability with more effective leadership, conflict resolution and coordination, and some studies have suggested that people voluntarily give prestige to individuals who provide useful skills or services. This led the team to come up with their coalitional intelligence hypothesis, which posits that people gain prestige—defined by higher respect and perceived leadership value—by using their thinking skills to benefit their group.
The study authors write, "More specifically, the relationships are mutually beneficial in that both leaders and followers cooperate with each other. Because leaders are good at solving collective action problems and at providing other kinds of cognitive services that are computationally demanding, they are voluntarily conferred prestige by others who benefit from associating with them and cooperating in this manner." To back up their hypothesis, the team conducted an experiment where they had people partner up and present a solution to a group problem. Afterward, the two people rated each other's intelligence and status.
The experiment involved 175 university students in Norway and included 85 complete pairs for a preregistered study. The participants took a cognitive test, individually planned a hypothetical food-gathering strategy and briefly explained their reasoning to a partner. In the hypothetical situation, the participant had to display their intelligence by coming up with a way to gather food in the most efficient way they could think of.
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