How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited
Our study explores aspects of human conversation within the framework of evolutionary psychology, focusing on the proportion of ‘social’ to ‘non-social’ content in casual conversation. Building upon the seminal study by Dunbar et al. (1997, Human Nature, 8, 231–246), which posited that two-thirds of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Language and Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000541/type/journal_article |
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| author | Anna Szala Sławomir Wacewicz Marek Placiński Aleksandra Ewa Poniewierska Arkadiusz Schmeichel Michal Mikolaj Stefanczyk Przemysław Żywiczyński Robin I.M. Dunbar |
| author_facet | Anna Szala Sławomir Wacewicz Marek Placiński Aleksandra Ewa Poniewierska Arkadiusz Schmeichel Michal Mikolaj Stefanczyk Przemysław Żywiczyński Robin I.M. Dunbar |
| author_sort | Anna Szala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Our study explores aspects of human conversation within the framework of evolutionary psychology, focusing on the proportion of ‘social’ to ‘non-social’ content in casual conversation. Building upon the seminal study by Dunbar et al. (1997, Human Nature, 8, 231–246), which posited that two-thirds of conversation gravitates around social matters, our findings indicate an even larger portion, approximately 85% being of a social nature. Additionally, we provide a nuanced categorisation of ‘social’ rooted in the principles of evolutionary psychology. Similarly to Dunbar et al.’s findings, our results support theories of human evolution that highlight the importance of social interactions and information exchange and the importance of the exchange of social information in human interactions across various contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-28d5a8cea92f49de8dbeffdf0e20a99c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1866-9808 1866-9859 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Language and Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-28d5a8cea92f49de8dbeffdf0e20a99c2025-01-16T21:49:39ZengCambridge University PressLanguage and Cognition1866-98081866-98592025-01-011710.1017/langcog.2024.54How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisitedAnna Szala0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9693-9834Sławomir Wacewicz1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1488-6220Marek Placiński2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7225-3099Aleksandra Ewa Poniewierska3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3386-3297Arkadiusz Schmeichel4Michal Mikolaj Stefanczyk5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4198-4512Przemysław Żywiczyński6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0267-3845Robin I.M. Dunbar7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9982-9702Center for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, Poland Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, PolandCenter for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, PolandCenter for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, PolandCenter for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, PolandCenter for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, PolandInstitute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, PolandCenter for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, PolandDepartment of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKOur study explores aspects of human conversation within the framework of evolutionary psychology, focusing on the proportion of ‘social’ to ‘non-social’ content in casual conversation. Building upon the seminal study by Dunbar et al. (1997, Human Nature, 8, 231–246), which posited that two-thirds of conversation gravitates around social matters, our findings indicate an even larger portion, approximately 85% being of a social nature. Additionally, we provide a nuanced categorisation of ‘social’ rooted in the principles of evolutionary psychology. Similarly to Dunbar et al.’s findings, our results support theories of human evolution that highlight the importance of social interactions and information exchange and the importance of the exchange of social information in human interactions across various contexts.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000541/type/journal_articleconversation analysisDunbarevolutionary psychologylanguage evolutionsocial discourse |
| spellingShingle | Anna Szala Sławomir Wacewicz Marek Placiński Aleksandra Ewa Poniewierska Arkadiusz Schmeichel Michal Mikolaj Stefanczyk Przemysław Żywiczyński Robin I.M. Dunbar How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited Language and Cognition conversation analysis Dunbar evolutionary psychology language evolution social discourse |
| title | How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited |
| title_full | How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited |
| title_fullStr | How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited |
| title_full_unstemmed | How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited |
| title_short | How much conversation content is actually social: human conversational behaviour revisited |
| title_sort | how much conversation content is actually social human conversational behaviour revisited |
| topic | conversation analysis Dunbar evolutionary psychology language evolution social discourse |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000541/type/journal_article |
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