Social interactions are characterized by distinct forms of interdependence, each of which has unique effects on how behavior unfolds within the interaction. Despite this, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that allow people to detect and respond to the nature of interdependence in any given interaction. We propose that interdependence theory provides clues regarding the structure of interdependence in the human ancestral past. In turn, evolutionary psychology offers a framework for understanding the types of information processing mechanisms that could have been shaped under these recurring conditions. We synthesize and extend these two perspectives to introduce a new theory: functional interdependence theory (FIT). FIT can generate testable hypotheses about the function and structure of the psychological mechanisms for inferring interdependence. This new perspective offers insight into how people initiate and maintain cooperative relationships, select social partners and allies, and identify opportunities to signal social motives.

中文翻译：

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功能相互依赖理论：对社会情况的进化解释。

社会互动的特点是相互依存的形式不同，每种形式对行为如何在互动中表现出独特的影响。尽管如此，对于让人们在任何给定的互动中发现并回应相互依存的心理机制知之甚少。我们提出，相互依存理论为人类祖先过去的相互依存结构提供了线索。反过来，进化心理学提供了一个框架，用于理解在这些反复条件下可能形成的信息处理机制的类型。我们综合并扩展了这两种观点，以引入一种新的理论：功能性相互依赖理论（FIT）。FIT可以得出有关可推断相互依赖的心理机制的功能和结构的可验证假设。这种新的视角提供了人们如何建立和维持合作关系，选择社会伙伴和盟友以及确定机会来表达社会动机的见解。