The Social Brain: Psychological Underpinnings and Implications for the Structure of Organizations

• Published in: Current directions in psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 109 - 114
• Main Author: Dunbar, R. I. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2014; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Anatomical correlates of behavior; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Cognition; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Occupational psychology; Organization and management. Professional relation; Organizational structure; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social interaction; Social interactions. Communication. Group processes; Social Networks; Social psychology; relationships; time constraints; teamwork; endorphins; social networks; brain size; cognitive constraints; Human; Volumetric analysis; Social group; Central nervous system; Time pressure; Social network; Cognition; Neuropeptide; Opioid peptide; Encephalon; Team work; Endorphin; Morphometry
• ISSN: 0963-7214; 1467-8721
• DOI: 10.1177/0963721413517118

The social-brain hypothesis refers to a quantitative relationship between social-group size and neocortex volume in monkeys and apes. This relationship predicts a group size of approximately 150 for humans, which turns out to be the typical size of both social communities in small-scale societies and personal social networks in the modern world. This constraint on the size of social groups is partly cognitive and partly temporal. It gives rise to a layered structure in primate and human social groups that, in humans, reflects both emotional closeness in relationships and the frequency of contact. These findings have potentially important implications for the way in which human organizations are structured.