Chapter 2 Flashcards
A definition of culture that makes it unique to humans
Having a set of signals, icons, and words that indicate something else most members
of that culture recognize.
Symbolic coding.
Examples of animal culture (cultural learning)
Imo the macaque, chimpanzees, orca dialects, bottlenose dolphins w/ sponges, pigeon food acquisition
Prestige bias
A type of learning bias;
Humans imitate those who have prestige (have skills and are respected by others)
Benefits of prestige bias
Efficient form of cultural learning, more likely to be learn successfully by targeting talented people, survival advantage (in the olden times)
Cost of prestige bias
We copy ALL behaviors a model participates in, some of which may not be helpful, imitating a famous person’s destructive habits
Similarity bias
A type of learning bias.
Choosing who to imitate and learn from based on the target’s similarity to themselves.
Similarity bias - motivation for imitation
Demonstrates group identity and affiliation.
Conformist transmission
A type of learning bias.
A tendency to learn from
people who are engaging in behaviors that are more common compared with others.
Sticking with the majority
Example of conformist transmission
Taking your shoes off when you enter a house party because you see everyone else taking their shoes off. Or visa versa
Logic behind conformist transmission
If the majority of people are engaging in this behavior, it must be the most useful behavior.
Learning bias
Similarity bias, conformist transmission, prestige bias.
Uniquely human
Mentalizing
The interest in the mental states of others;
Theory of Mind
Imitative learning
the learner internalizes something of the model’s goals and behavioral strategies;
Copying precisely what they think the model is trying to do;
most reliable route for cultural learning
Emulative learning
the learner focuses on the environmental events involved (e.g. the object/tool);
does not require imitating the model’s behavioral strategies;
Not interested in the intentions of the model;
more efficient;
does not allow for passing of cultural information
Language
Most successful way to transmit cultural ideas
Scaffolding
A form of instructed learning;
using models to simplify a task and direct children’s attention to the relevant steps;
makes tasks easier for children to master
Instructed learning (types of)
Scaffolding, indirect demonstration, explicit communication;
allows for cultural information to be accurately reproduced, conveys norms
3 cultural adaptations in humans that allow for cumulative cultural learning
Mentalizing, language, sharing experiences and goals
Ratchet effect
A cultural product grows in complexity/usefulness over time;
builds without losing information (one-way like a ratchet);
allows for cumulative cultural evolution
Benefits of growing population
More talented people to copy from;
more chances for innovation;
Cultural information maintained and improved upon better;
faster cultural evolution;
interconnectedness
Cultural worlds
worlds that contain cultural ideas that have accumulated over time
Encephalization quotient
The ratio of the brain weight of an animal to the brain weight predicted for a comparable animal of the same body size;
humans have the largest EQ of any animal (4.6 approx)
Cost of having a big brain
Requires a lot of energy to function (16% of metabolic energy)
What has allowed us to have a big brain?
Smaller gut, less muscle, cooking
Gene-culture coevolution
The interaction of culture and genes;
key factor that distinguished human evolution;
e.g. cooking leading to smaller jaw, teeth, and gut
Social Brain Hypothesis
Our big brains developed in part because of the great cognitive demands involved in social living;
Those with better social abilities (big brains) can better attract mates and survive
Neocortex Ratio
The volume of the neocortex relative to the volume of the rest of the brain;
support for the social brain hypothesis (largest in humans);
Proxy measure of intelligence
Neocortex
Outermost layer of the brain;
Governs higher functions
