This chapter provides a brief historical background to social learning research. The history of research into social learning and imitation dates back to Aristotle, who explicitly made the claim that animals acquire behavior through imitation and other forms of social learning. Aristotle was particularly impressed with the human imitative tendency. The three insights made in the fourth century BC—that humans are uncharacteristically reliant on imitative learning compared to other animals, that young children in particular acquire important aspects of their behavioral repertoire through copying, and that imitation appears intrinsically rewarding to children—are remarkably relevant to contemporary social learning research. The chapter examines how investigations of social learning have been central to research into the evolution of mind, the mechanisms of social learning, animal culture, the diffusion of innovations, child development, and cultural evolution.
News Feature: Can animal culture drive evolution?
