Chapter 2

Question 1

What is some evidence that culture is not unique to humans?

Answer 1

other species are also able to learn information from other members of their species through social transmission

Question 2

How good are non-human species at transmitting culture?

Answer 2

not very good, takes years for things to be passed along rather than the minutes it takes for humans

Question 3

What is prestige bias in relation to whom we choose to imitate?

Answer 3

we seek those who are skilled and are respected by others

Question 4

What is theory of mind, and which species evidence it?

Answer 4

the understanding that others have different minds, perspectives, and intentions
Seen in humans and dogs

Question 5

What is the difference between imitative and emulative learning?

Answer 5

Emulative: does not copy, just gets main jist of what the person is trying to accomplish
Imitative: copies/mirrors actions precisely

Question 6

Which species is more likely to use imitative learning?

Answer 6

Humans

Question 7

Which species is more likely to use emulative learning?

Answer 7

Chimpanzees

Question 8

How does language facilitate cultural learning?

Answer 8

allows ideas to be transferred without visual demonstration

Question 9

How does language ability differ between humans and animals?

Answer 9

animals don’t have the strong language abilities that humans do

Question 10

What is the ratchet effect in culture accumulating over time?

Answer 10

cultural information can continue to accumulate without losing the earlier information

Question 11

How and why has the pace of cultural transmission changed over time?

Answer 11

the human population continues to grow and people have been becoming more and more interconnected

Question 12

What is the method and basic results of the “fishing net” study?

Answer 12

the larger the group of people collaborating together means more ideas to discuss and test = better outcome

Question 13

What do the results the fishing net study suggest about group size, connectedness, and cultural evolution?

Answer 13

The greater the group size, the better chance you have for success in transferring culture onto the next generation or group of people

Question 14

Why do cultures sometimes lose ideas? (e.g., the video of the women who was the last to speak and document her tribe’s language)

Answer 14

The group becomes too small and doesn’t spread on their culture to others therefore killing off the culture and loss of knowledge

Question 15

What is the encephalization quotient?

Answer 15

humans have brains 4-5 times larger than other mammals our size

Question 16

What are the costs to humans for having big brains?

Answer 16

Brains require a lot of energy to operate (16% of basal metabolism)

Question 17

In what ways have we evolved to allow for the expansion of our brains?

Answer 17

loss muscle mass and loss of strength, smaller guts (stomach, large and small intestine)

Question 18

What is the social brain hypothesis?

Answer 18

the theory that cognitive demands in society led to the evolution of large primate brains

Question 19

Why it is advantageous to have a large brain for primates?

Answer 19

The more successful a primate is at navigating webs of social relationships the more likely they are to find a mate, secure resources, and protect themselves and their offspring from dangers

Question 20

According to the social brain hypothesis, how large of a group is ideal for humans to maintain relationships?

Answer 20

approximately 150 people

Question 21

What is meant by calling humans an “ultra-social” species?

Answer 21

Humans tend to be far more engaged with others around them (wondering what people are doing, gossiping, imitating)

Question 22

How do toddlers and chimps compare on tasks involving physical components and social components?

Answer 22

Physical: toddler and chimp were even

Social: toddler was way ahead of chimp

Question 23

What seems to drive the differences between toddlers and chimps when performing physical and social components? What does the text argue is the primary way that humans differ from other primates?

Answer 23

• toddlers did as told and imitated whereas chimps emulated

- we are able to learn from others and build upon the innovations of others

Question 24

Main points of the Human Spark video (chimpanzee comparison to humans)

Answer 24

similarities: use of tools and keeping track of favors
differences: high level concepts, abstract thinking, getting along with others

theory of mind: we communicate to help each other understand concepts, chimps don’t catch onto that