The origin of our big brain and sophisticated cognitive abilities remains an evolutionary puzzle. The social theory of intellect from the 1960s proposed that social demands drove the evolution of primate intelligence, challenging the then traditional view that the brain evolved to solve ecological problems. The social brain hypothesis postulates that the increased brain size of primates derived from complex social pressures involving cooperation, competition, and strategies for manipulation. The cultural brain hypothesis, on the other hand, holds that the increased brain size in humans results from pressures on social learning for the proficient storing and transmission of cultural information. My research interest lies in examining the function of theory of mind in terms of solving problems of cooperation and/or cultural learning. For this, I conducted studies with children (3-6 years old) and adults, both in Canada and Fiji.
After completing her post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychology, UBC, Dr. Myriam Juda is now a research psychologist (Simon Fraser University) and consultant (Circadian Light Therapy).