The Social Leap

William von Hippel's account of human evolution as primarily a social achievement — the 'social leap' from our primate ancestors to large-scale cooperative societies as the key to understanding human psychology.

The social leap: what distinguished early humans was not just intelligence but radical social cooperation — the ability to coordinate with non-kin at large scale. Evolutionary origins of social emotions: status anxiety, conformity, in-group/out-group psychology, romantic love — all intelligible as adaptations to the challenge of living in large, complex social groups. Implications for modern well-being: our social needs were shaped by small-band living and are often frustrated by modern social conditions.