Nhận biết (M1)

The scenario of a dwarf mongoose engaging in territorial conflict with an outgroup dwarf mongoose illustrates a major dimension of social life across animal species, from the solitary to those with complex sociality: intraspecific contact with perceived outsiders. Though one prominent hypothesis posits that sophisticated cognitive adaptations are primarily driven by the demands of various behaviors within established social groups (e.g., cooperative response to predation), interactions with samespecies outsiders arguably contribute comparably by favoring nuanced analysis (e.g., evaluation of relative physical status).

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

• A.

  It establishes that perceiving an individual of the same species as an outsider exemplifies the kind of analysis mentioned later in the text.

• B.

  It identifies a particular type of social interaction whose relevance to higher cognition in animals is the overall focus of the text.

• C.

  It narrows the text's focus from the full complement of social life dimensions across species to one applicable to only a subset of species.

• D.

  It defines a scientific term central to the text's discussion of the role of complex sociality in driving cognitive adaptations in animals.