Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity

The authors ask: Could humans be self-domesticated? The idea seems counter-intuitive initially, but as researchers learn more about how self-domestication affects animal cognition, it becomes plausible. The evolution of cooperative communication skills in dogs and bonobos aligns with human cognitive evolution. This hypothesis can be tested with our advanced knowledge of human development and neuroscience.

Belyaev’s experiment with foxes shows that selecting for emotional responses, whether friendly or fearful, shapes animals’ communication skills. Jerome Kagan’s subsequent research on human emotional reactivity has revealed that babies’ responses to new situations can predict their future emotional responses. Highly reactive babies tend to remain reactive into adulthood, while low-reactive babies become calmer adults. This emotional reactivity is linked to the amygdala, a brain region activated by threats. In turn, the psychologist Henry Wellman has explored whether this variation in emotional reactivity affects “theory of mind” development in children. Theory of mind, the ability to understand others’ beliefs and intentions, is crucial for cooperative communication. Wellman found that less emotionally reactive children developed an understanding of false belief earlier than their more reactive peers. The early-stage development of theory of mind is linked to language development, giving low-reactive children an advantage in communication and