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A 5 page paper. Machiavellian intelligence is based on the "proposition that the advanced cognitive processes of primates are primarily adaptations to the special complexities of their social lives, rather than to nonsocial environmental problems such as finding food, which were traditionally thought to be the province of intelligence. This paper explains this theory as it was introduced by Humphrey and then expanded on by others. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGmchint.rtf
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and merciful ruler but if it was really necessary, the prince should act as the exact opposite. This characteristic is essential for any individual, human or nonhuman, to survive especially
as the social group becomes larger and more complex (Avila et al, 2000). Without the ability and skill to act in the ways described by Machiavelli, the individual would not
be able to survive in their group. Considering the fact that there were many aspects of primate behavior that were observed to be helpful and cooperative that had resulted
from the natural selection process that the term Machiavellian intelligence seemed to be the appropriate metaphor for describing this theory of evolution (Mesa Community College, nd). The definition of
the Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis is a bit vague but most recently, descriptions typically fall into one of three subcategories: 1. Transmission of novel behaviors proposed by Caro and Hauser.
2. Deception proposed by Byrne and Whiten. 3. Alliance formation proposed by Harcourt and DeWaal (Rifkin, 1995). All three of the subcategories may include altruistic interactions between members of
the group. These interactions will vary in complexity as well as the specific kind of transaction (Rifkin, 1995). Regardless the specific subcategory these theories are placed in, they are all
based on the "proposition that the advanced cognitive processes of primates are primarily adaptations to the special complexities of their social lives, rather than to nonsocial environmental problems such as
finding food, which were traditionally thought to be the province of intelligence" (MITECS, nd). Studies of primate societies in the 1960s and 1970s led towards this new theory of the
evolution of intelligence. The move towards this thinking was first introduced by Nicholas Humphrey and his study entitled The Social Function of Intellect, which he published in 1976. Although there
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