Shared intentionality (henceforth SI) is a theoretical construct referring to a suite of abilities that enable coordinated, collaborative interactions. A core idea of SI is that such interactions are made possible by a putatively human unique motivation to share mental states with others. While SI has become an important concept in research on social cognition, there is controversy surrounding its nature and scope, ingredient processes, and behavioral markers. Notions differ regarding what exactly is shared, and how SI should or can be studied. Lack of consensus undermines current views on SI. There are also claims that SI is a human adaptation with no counterparts or precursors among other great apes, while it is widely accepted that ingredients of SI emerge early in human ontogeny. This is surprising, considering that abilities that emerge early in development tend to have ancestral evolutionary origins and are expected to be shared among closely related species.
The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together research on abilities and processes that have been discussed as an expression of SI. The theme strives to highlight empirical findings that are important for elucidating the evolutionary and developmental foundations of such abilities and processes, as well as their cross-cultural distribution and variability. Accordingly, this topic will strive to give due visibility to empirical data that has been neglected in current theories of SI that perpetuate the idea that SI is a recent human-specific adaptation. We also welcome research on the underlying psychobiological and neurocognitive mechanisms implicated in SI-related abilities, as well as research on the processes and contexts which support, mediate or constrain SI. This answers the need to outline a coherent picture of the core ingredients and expressions of human SI. We also welcome purely theoretical treatments of SI research. By bringing together these bodies of research, we aim to promote an integrative perspective on SI-relevant abilities and processes, that connects both ultimate and proximate causes, in a unified theme issue. The contributions to this issue are expected to catalyze a multidisciplinary and effervescent exchange between SI scholars of various backgrounds, thereby generating new research ideas and findings.
We welcome articles of various formats (Review, Perspective, Original Research) that address SI and its ingredient processes and contexts across cultures, in human infants and children, extinct hominin species and extant nonhuman species, as well as articles that address the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of SI, including research on clinical cases. As such, the topics will include – but will not be limited to – inter-individual cooordination (of both similar and complementary actions), the use of coordination signals during joint activities, the ability to understand shared goals and motivations, and commitment to joint action. Moreover, we also welcome submissions on topics related to how brains model all such aspects of SI, and on how neurohormonal mechanisms mediate their expression. Finally, we welcome theoretical articles on the topic of SI research as such.
Shared intentionality (henceforth SI) is a theoretical construct referring to a suite of abilities that enable coordinated, collaborative interactions. A core idea of SI is that such interactions are made possible by a putatively human unique motivation to share mental states with others. While SI has become an important concept in research on social cognition, there is controversy surrounding its nature and scope, ingredient processes, and behavioral markers. Notions differ regarding what exactly is shared, and how SI should or can be studied. Lack of consensus undermines current views on SI. There are also claims that SI is a human adaptation with no counterparts or precursors among other great apes, while it is widely accepted that ingredients of SI emerge early in human ontogeny. This is surprising, considering that abilities that emerge early in development tend to have ancestral evolutionary origins and are expected to be shared among closely related species.
The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together research on abilities and processes that have been discussed as an expression of SI. The theme strives to highlight empirical findings that are important for elucidating the evolutionary and developmental foundations of such abilities and processes, as well as their cross-cultural distribution and variability. Accordingly, this topic will strive to give due visibility to empirical data that has been neglected in current theories of SI that perpetuate the idea that SI is a recent human-specific adaptation. We also welcome research on the underlying psychobiological and neurocognitive mechanisms implicated in SI-related abilities, as well as research on the processes and contexts which support, mediate or constrain SI. This answers the need to outline a coherent picture of the core ingredients and expressions of human SI. We also welcome purely theoretical treatments of SI research. By bringing together these bodies of research, we aim to promote an integrative perspective on SI-relevant abilities and processes, that connects both ultimate and proximate causes, in a unified theme issue. The contributions to this issue are expected to catalyze a multidisciplinary and effervescent exchange between SI scholars of various backgrounds, thereby generating new research ideas and findings.
We welcome articles of various formats (Review, Perspective, Original Research) that address SI and its ingredient processes and contexts across cultures, in human infants and children, extinct hominin species and extant nonhuman species, as well as articles that address the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of SI, including research on clinical cases. As such, the topics will include – but will not be limited to – inter-individual cooordination (of both similar and complementary actions), the use of coordination signals during joint activities, the ability to understand shared goals and motivations, and commitment to joint action. Moreover, we also welcome submissions on topics related to how brains model all such aspects of SI, and on how neurohormonal mechanisms mediate their expression. Finally, we welcome theoretical articles on the topic of SI research as such.
