title: Arboreal clambering and the evolution of self-conception.
abstract: A fundamentally new psychology related to the ability to conceive of limited aspects of the self may have evolved in the ancestor of the great ape/human clade. Existing models of the evolution of primate intelligence do not provide an adequate explanation of the apparent restriction of this phenomenon. We propose that the capacity for self-conception evolved as a psychological mechanism enabling large-bodied, highly arboreal apes to cope with problems posed by the need to negotiate their way through a habitat that was fragile due to their body size. First, we briefly outline the case for believing that a new psychology related to self-conception evolved during the Miocene in the ancestor of the great ape/human clade. Next, we examine the existing models of the evolution of primate intelligence and assess their ability to account for the evolution of self-conception. Finally, we offer details of our alternative model, along with a series of predictions that can be derived from it.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Comparative Behavioral Biology, New Iberia Research Center, University of Southwestern Louisiana 70560, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Povinelli
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Cant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017753:Ecosystem; D015186:Hominidae / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008124:Locomotion; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010802:Phylogeny; D011323:Primates / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior