AUTHOR=Crespi Bernard J. , Flinn Mark V. , Summers Kyle 

TITLE=Runaway Social Selection in Human Evolution

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.894506

DOI=10.3389/fevo.2022.894506

ISSN=2296-701X

ABSTRACT=Darwin (1871) posited that social competition among conspecifics could be a powerful selective pressure. Alexander (1990) proposed a model of human evolution involving a runaway process of social competition based on Darwin’s insight. Here we briefly review Alexander’s logic, and then expand upon his model by elucidating six core arenas of social selection that involve runaway processes, and that were likely involved in the evolution of the remarkable combination of adaptations in humans.  We  hypothesize that the key life history innovation that opened the door to runaway social selection and cumulative culture was increased cooperation among individuals in small fission-fusion groups.