LEC. #2

Question 1

What is imitative learning?

Answer 1

learning style where learners focus on intention and internalizing model’s goals and behavioural strategies

Question 2

What is emulative learning?

Answer 2

learning style where learners focus on what model is doing and engage in trial and error to change situation

Question 3

What type of learning is getting bananas?

Answer 3

emulative learning

Question 4

Can new cultural information be only accurately reproduced?

Answer 4

no, it can also be improved

Question 5

What is the ratchet effect?

Answer 5

when cultural information is improved, it allows cultural accumulation

Question 6

What are 3 key examples of the ratchet effect?

Answer 6

1. evolution of hammers
2. evolution of game
3. evolution of phone

Question 7

Why are humans able to learn shared cultural ideas?

Answer 7

big brain and high ratio of basal metabolism

Question 8

How much of our basal metabolism does our brain consume? (answer in percentage value)

Answer 8

16%

Question 9

How much energy do other animals consume from their brains?

Answer 9

3%

Question 10

What are 3 competing theories for why primates have such big brains?

Answer 10

1. they eat fruit = requires remembering where you found fruit trees so you can return to them when ripe
2. they eat nutrient-rich food that is difficult to extract (ex. termites and nuts)
3. they live in large social networks = keeping track of social relationships and learning from each other

Question 11

Was the theory for the relationship between neocortex ratio and % of fruit in the diet of primates supported?

Answer 11

no, dots are scattered on graph

Question 12

Was the theory for the relationship between foraging methods and the neocortex ratio supported?

Answer 12

extractive foraging dots are linear, but still no relationship

Question 13

Was the theory for the relationship between neocortex ratio and mean group size supported?

Answer 13

yes

Question 14

What did Robin Danbar propose in terms of the relationship between neocortex ratio and mean group size?

Answer 14

primate brain evolution driven by social lifestyle

Question 15

What is the name of the hypothesis that Danbar proposes?

Answer 15

“The Magic Number of 150”

Question 16

What is the “The Magic Number of 150” hypothesis?

Answer 16

our brain is evolved to live in a pop. of 150 people

Question 17

Humans wouldn’t be classified as just being social, what else would they be?

Answer 17

ultra-social

Question 18

What does being ultra social mean?

Answer 18

being interested in other people’s activities and engaging in cultural learning

Question 19

What is co-evolution?

Answer 19

environment and culture is tightly related to each other

Question 20

What are some things that different physical ecology can affect?

Answer 20

1. gender roles
2. diet
3. foraging behaviour

Question 21

Jared Diamond proposed 2 key aspects that may be the reason why people have developed complex societies. What are these 2 reasons?

Answer 21

1. small geo. differences in availability of easy-to-domesticate animals and plants
2. position of Eurasia

Question 22

Where would there be a greater spread of cultural tradition? Where a continental axis runs southeast to West or North to South?

Answer 22

southeast to West

Question 23

What is evoked culture?

Answer 23

everyone has biologically-encoded behavioural repertoires accessible to them, they are engaged when needed (situational conditions)

Question 24

Someone’s attractiveness being dependent on the environment is an example of what type of culture?

Answer 24

evoked

Question 25

Who proposed the idea that the more healthy a person is, it increases the chances to have healthy offspring?

Answer 25

David Buss

Question 26

If there is an environment with many parasites, would a person's attractiveness be important?

Answer 26

yes

Question 27

If there is an environment with less parasites, would a person's attractiveness be important?

Answer 27

no

Question 28

What is transmitted culture?

Answer 28

people learn about cultural practices through social learning or by modelling others

Question 29

What are 2 key questions that are related to the idea of transmitted culture?

Answer 29

1. How does information spread? 2. How is an invention transmitted from original generation to the next?

Question 30

True or False: transmitted culture cannot travel with people if the environment of the new place is different from initial set of geographic conditions.

Answer 30

False

Question 31

What is the name of the smallest units of cultural information that can be faithfully transmitted to others and the next generations?

Answer 31

meme(s)

Question 32

For meme(s), like genes, would the longevety, fidelity, and fecundity, be high or low?

Answer 32

high

Question 33

In relation to the ideas that Richard Dawkins proposed, what are the 3 main differences between genes and memes?

Answer 33

1. memes don't have tangible entities 2. don't have mutations 3. sometimes be maladaptive

Question 34

In the "epidemiology of ideas" concept proposed by Dan Sperber, what are the 2 key distinctions that are also different from the idea of memes (proposed by Richard Dawkins)?

Answer 34

1. person comes up with idea (inventor) has mental representation in mind 2. imitator learns about idea from inventor

Question 35

In the "epidemiology of ideas" concept proposed by Dan Sperber, when ideas get transmitted are they just copy and paste or do they differ?

Answer 35

different because imitator has to learn it his/her own way

Question 36

What is the name of the theory that states that people influence each other which leads to groups of like-minded people separated by geography (ex. cultures, languages)

Answer 36

Dynamic Social Impact Theory (Cullum + Harton)

Question 37

What type of ideas usually spread pretty fast?

Answer 37

emotional ideas

Question 38

In a study done by Norenzayan et al., 2006, when participants recieved the 18 items to read, what are the 2 types of items that they recieved?

Answer 38

1. intuitive 2. counterintuitive

Question 39

In a study done by Norenzayan et al., 2006, the participants were split into 4 conditions. What are they called?

Answer 39

1. entirely intuitive (100%) 2. minimally counterintuitive (72% I, 28% CI) 3. equal freq. 4. maximally counterintuitive (28% I, 72% CI)

Question 40

In a study done by Norenzayan et al., 2006, when the participants were asked to recall the items, which group of items were recalled the most?

Answer 40

entirely intuitive

Question 41

In a study done by Norenzayan et al., 2006, when the participants were asked to recall the items a week later, which group of items were recalled the most?

Answer 41

minimally counterintuitive

Question 42

In Putnam's story, "Bowling Alone" what is the main message that supports the idea that culture is changing?

Answer 42

americans are becoming more individualistic

Question 43

What are 4 main causes of the changes in our lifestyles that we see today and how we are becoming more individualistic?

Answer 43

1. time pressure from families with mom and dad working (10%) 2. suburban lifestyle (10%) 3. elec. entertainment (25%) 4. generational difference (living through WW2) (50%)

Question 44

What is the Flynn Effect?

Answer 44

people becoming more intelligent

Question 45

In relation to the Flynn effect, when there was a review in changes in IQ score in 14 nations, what was the average increase that was observed?

Answer 45

between 5 and 25%

Question 46

In relation to the Flynn effect, the tendencies are observable in different standardized tests and measure which type of intelligence?

Answer 46

stable intelligence

Question 47

What are 3 main reasons that the scores of Raven's Matrices have increased over time?

Answer 47

1. education 2. popular culture 3. game

Question 48

When it comes to cultures persisting a great deal across time, what are adaptations constrained by?

Answer 48

previously existing structures