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Negative results are needed to show the specific value of a cultural explanation for g

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2017

Ruben C. Arslan ,
Christoph J. von Borell ,
Julia Ostner  and
Lars Penke
Ruben C. Arslan
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany ruben.arslan@gmail.com christoph.borell@psych.uni-goettingen.de lpenke@uni-goettingen.de https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/arslan https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/biopers/team/borell https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/biopers/team/penke Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Christoph J. von Borell
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany ruben.arslan@gmail.com christoph.borell@psych.uni-goettingen.de lpenke@uni-goettingen.de https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/arslan https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/biopers/team/borell https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/biopers/team/penke Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany Research Training Group 2070 – Understanding Social Relationships, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Julia Ostner
Affiliation:
Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany German Primate Center Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, Germany Department of Behavioral Ecology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany julia.ostner@biologie.uni-goettingen.de https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/164051.html
Lars Penke
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Personality Psychology, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany ruben.arslan@gmail.com christoph.borell@psych.uni-goettingen.de lpenke@uni-goettingen.de https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/arslan https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/biopers/team/borell https://www.psych.uni-goettingen.de/en/biopers/team/penke Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Abstract

Burkart et al. suggest that social learning can explain the cognitive positive manifold for social animals, including humans. We caution that simpler explanations of positive trait intercorrelations exist, such as genetic load. To test the suggested explanation's specificity, we also need to examine non-social species and traits, such as health, that are distal to cognitive abilities.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e198
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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