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The social cognitive evolution of myths: Collective narratives of shared pasts as markers for coalitions' communicative and cooperative prowess

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2025

Wouter Wolf Open the ORCID record for Wouter Wolf [Opens in a new window]
Wouter Wolf*
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands w.wolf@uu.nl
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

To understand why humans put much effort into celebrating cultural myths, it is crucial to approach this phenomenon as part of humans' broader social cognitive evolution. Specifically, humans' unique capacity to bond with others through shared/collective representations of shared experiences has likely caused individuals to use myths to assess not only coalitions' fitness interdependence, but also their cooperative prowess.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 47 , 2024 , e195
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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