The Triadic Roots of Human Cognition: “Mind” Is the Ability to go Beyond Dyadic Associations

Abstract

Empirical evidence is reviewed indicating that the extraordinary aspects of the human mind are due to our species’ ability to go beyond simple “dyadic associations” and to process the relations among three items of information simultaneously. Classic explanations of the “triadic” nature of human skills have been advocated by various scholars in the context of the evolution of human cognition. Here I summarize the core processes as found in (i) the syntax of language, (ii) tool-usage, and (iii) joint attention. I then review the triadic foundations of two perceptual phenomena of great importance in human aesthetics: (iv) harmony perception and (v) pictorial depth perception. In all five subfields of human psychology, most previous work has emphasized the recursive, hierarchical complexity of such “higher cognition,” but a strongly reductionist approach indicates that the core mechanisms are triadic. It is concluded that the cognitive skills traditionally considered to be “uniquely” human require three-way associational processing that most non-Primate animal species find difficult or impossible, but all members of Homo sapiens – regardless of small cultural differences – find easy and inherently intriguing.

Familiarity‐Matching: An Ecologically Rational Heuristic for the Relationships‐Comparison Task

“…With respect to the consideration of the third object (e.g., city X) in FM, it has been demonstrated, especially in the fields of comparative cognition and developmental cognition, that humans (even children) generally perceive the external world based on relationships between three objects. Furthermore, the ability to capture these associations has been regarded as human‐specific intelligence (e.g., Cook, , ). For example, pictorial depth perception about three objects based on relative heights or relative sizes, musical perception of positive or negative affections from three‐tone combinations, and joint attention behaviors from a triadic interaction between self (child), other (adult), and an object.…”

Comparing the structure and function of social-cognition-related brain areas in bisexual, heterosexual, and homosexual women and men

“…Activation of the dmPFC has been associated with modeling other persons as well as the ability to share attentional focus on an external task or object with another person (Hassabis et al, 2014;Saxe, 2006). This joint attentional ability may be at the center of uniquely human social cognition, allowing individuals to understand each other's intentions and plans (Cook, 2018;Tomasello et al, 2005). Based on these functional associations, we focused on the rTPJ and dmPFC as regions of interest in testing whether bisexuality may be associated with more complex and elaborate social cognition.…”

Yoga’s Triadic Foundation

“…The body becomes the first field of study and application of knowledge; but, techniques for understanding harmony or the sense of totality are also used, which lead positive practical knowledge beyond its limits towards intuitive on stone anvil as an impressive skill with a triadic cognitive core. Cook (2018) emphasizes the difference between dyadic associations and triadic relationships, as true triadic processing, and the essence of human intelligence.…”