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MatthewB comments on On the Power of Intelligence and Rationality - Less Wrong
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I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but in the ancestral environment of tribes of 100 or so people, being able to negotiate alliances, curry the favors of those in power, and attract mates were essential qualities for survival and reproduction.
Something that's often overlooked in this context is that it's not these qualities themselves that are adaptive, but the ability to analyze your surroundings and learn how to develop them. In other words, we didn't evolve charisma as much as the ability to develop it.
I don't know... My Younger sister (she is a zoologist and mathematician) says that Birds can exhibit traits that might be primitive forms of charismatic behavior. Certainly among male birds there are all manner of display and currying favor behaviors. And, in some flocking birds, the most dominant males will seek out positions that place themselves in danger in order to protect the rest of the flock. These birds often have shorter life spans, yet have more offspring.
I'll have to ask her more about this, and see if she has an Evo Biologist on staff that might have more info.