Coordinated group living has been humanity’s primary survival strategy throughout evolution

Evidence

Evolutionary psychology has also long noted that security and uncertainty reduction are important drivers for why people join social groups (Brewer & Caporael, 2006; Caporael, 1997). Coordinated group living has been the primary survival strategy of the human species throughout the entire human evolution. The social group provides an essential buffer between the individual organisms and the exigencies of the physical environment. Given the morphology and ecology of evolving hominids, group processes provide an effective interface between hominids and their habitat. For example, defense from predators, finding food, moving across a landscape in ancient times, or staying competitive in today’s competitive and dynamic marketplace all require highly coordinated group processes. — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2339