The number of Dunbar is a limit on the number of permanent social ties that a person can maintain.
Maintaining such connections requires knowledge of the individual's distinctive features, his character , as well as his social position , which requires significant intellectual abilities. Lies in the range from 100 to 230, most often considered equal to 150.
The value is named after the English anthropologist Robin Dunbar , who proposed this number.
Content
Dunbar Theory
Herd primates are characterized by complex social behavior - they actively build relationships with other members of the pack, usually through grooming . Dunbar noticed a relationship between the level of development of the new cerebral cortex and the size of the flock in primates. Based on data on 38 genera of primates, he derived a mathematical relationship between the development of the neocortex and the size of the flock, and, based on an assessment of the development of the human brain, he proposed an estimate of the optimal size of the human herd. To test his theory, Dunbar turned to anthropological data. The average size of the villages of traditional settlements fluctuates within the limits assumed by him. In addition, the size of Neolithic settlements is up to 200 people.
See also
- Animal intelligence
Notes
Literature
- Healy, SD, & Rowe, C. (2007). A critique of comparative studies of brain size. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274 (1609), 453-464.
- Dunbar, RIM Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates (English) // Journal of Human Evolution : journal. - 1992 .-- June ( vol. 22 , no. 6 ). - P. 469-493 . - DOI : 10.1016 / 0047-2484 (92) 90081-J .
- Dunbar, RIM (1993), Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans , Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16 (4): 681-735.
- Edney, JJ (1981a). Paradoxes on the commons: Scarcity and the problem of equality. Journal of Community Psychology , 9, 3-34.
- Sawaguchi, T., & Kudo, H. (1990), Neocortical development and social structure in primates , Primates 31: 283-290.
- Wong, David (2005) Inside the Monkeysphere , [1] , a semi-satirical introduction to Dunbar's Number for the average internet user.