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Mental attention, not language, may explain evolutionary growth of human intelligence and brain size

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2006

Juan Pascual-Leone
Juan Pascual-Leone
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. juanpl@yorku.ca
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Abstract

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Using neoPiagetian theory of mental attention (or working memory), I task-analyze two complex performances of great apes and one symbolic performance (funeral burials) of early Homo sapiens. Relating results to brain size growth data, I derive estimates of mental attention for great apes, Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and modern Homo sapiens, and use children's cognitive development as reference. This heuristic model seems consistent with research.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , February 2006, pp. 19 - 20
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press