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in a variety of contexts where social matters and communication might not
necessarily be central (cf. narrative in arts, advertisement, entertainment etc.).
After an introduction and discussion of the NIH, the possible implications of
narrative intelligence research for understanding autism, and autism therapy
are discussed. It is argued that narrative technology can potentially meet the so-
cial and cognitive needs of young primate story-tellers. The chapter concludes
by outlining requirements for artificial socially intelligent story-tellers .
Primate intelligence: Getting to know each other
Primate societies belong to individualized societies .Herewefindcomplex
recognition mechanisms of kin and group members. This gives rise to com-
plex kinds of social interaction and the development of various forms of social
relationships and networks. On the behavioral level, long-lasting social bond-
ing, attachment, alliances, dynamic (not genetically determined) hierarchies,
social learning, development of traditions, etc., are visible signs of individual-
ized societies. In humans, the evolution of language, culture and an elaborate
cognitive system of mindreading and empathy are characteristics of human
social intelligence in individualized societies (Dautenhahn 1997). As a conse-
quence of the latter, humans not only pay attention to other agents and their
interactions individually (interactions between distinct personalities), but also
use their mental capacities to reason about other agents and social interactions.
In primate societies an individual is not only socially situated (being part
of and surrounded by a social environment) but also socially embedded (Ed-
monds & Dautenhahn 1998), which means that the agent needs to pay atten-
tion to other agents and their interactions individually. Particularly, human
primates are specialized in predicting, manipulating and dealing with highly
complex social dynamics (involving direct relationships as well as third-party
relationships); as we discuss below in more detail, they possess language as an
effective means of preserving group coherence, social bonding (Dunbar 1993),
and communicate about themselves and others in terms of stories. Humans
not only deal with very complex relationships but seem to have mental mod-
els of themselves, others and the social world (cf. Baron-Cohen et al. (1985),
Whiten (1991), Baron-Cohen (1995)). Humans live in individualized societies
(as do some other species of birds and mammals). An increasingly complex
social field and an increasing need to communicate effectively with each other
were likely to have been among the important constraints in the evolution of
human minds.
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