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An evolutionary approach to accuracy in social perception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2017

Anthony C. Little
Anthony C. Little*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath FK9 4LA, United Kingdom. a.little@bath.ac.uk www.alittlelab.com
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Abstract

An evolutionary approach highlights that accuracy should be expected over error because selection pressures will have shaped social perception to be functional. Behaviour is extremely complex and so it is unlikely that observers will be perfectly accurate, but an evolutionary view strongly predicts that people will behave as rational observers and in many cases social perception should favour adaptive responses.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e8
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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