Are the New Mass Media Subverting Cultural Transmission?

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome H. Barkow ◽  
Rick O'Gorman ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
New Media ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
High Status ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Research Questions

Popular culture is a subcategory of culture. Today, mass and new media appear to be interfering with the evolved mechanisms that permit the acquisition and editing of culture. We know surprisingly little about these cognitive attentional processes that enable the information acquisition and editing packed into the term “cultural transmission.” It was Michael Chance who first concluded that we attend to and learn preferentially from those high in status. For Chance, high status based on fear leads to agonistic attention and a constricted type of learning, while hedonic attention based on respect permits much broader learning possibilities. If Chance's theories are supported, then it would follow that much of the current unpredictability of popular culture and culture change in general reflects the replacement of family and community high-status figures by influential media celebrities, thereby damaging the transmission of local culture. Chance's approach would also explain why we seem to find it difficult to pay attention to those low in status and power. There may be attractors of attention involved in cultural transmission in addition to status, including physical attractiveness. We consider, from an evolutionary perspective, various researchable hypotheses that stem from Chance's and related work and from ethnography, we discuss this work's implications for how we understand culture and “popular culture,” and we argue that the kind of research in cognitive and evolutionary psychology we espouse is also needed for the next generation of mathematical models of gene–culture coevolution. We conclude with a list of research questions.

Status hierarchy, attractiveness hierarchy and sex ratio

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiel Zwaan, ◽  
Jan Kornelis Dijkstra ◽  
René Veenstra
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
High Status ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Adolescent Boys ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Status Hierarchy ◽  
Goal Framing

The moderating effects of three specific conditions (status hierarchy, attractiveness hierarchy and sex ratio) on the link between status (popularity) and physical and relational aggression were examined in a large sample of adolescent boys ( N = 1,665) and girls ( N = 1,637) ( M age = 13.60). In line with the hypotheses, derived from integrating a goal-framing perspective with an evolutionary perspective, it was found for boys that status was more strongly related to both physical and relational aggression in classrooms when differences in status (status hierarchy) and physical attractiveness between same-gender peers (attractiveness hierarchy) were smaller, and to relational aggression when cross-gender peers (potential mating partners) were relatively scarce. For girls, status hierarchy and attractiveness hierarchy only moderated the link between status and relational aggression. These results suggest that competition to a certain extent triggers aggression by high-status adolescents. The findings are discussed from a broader evolutionary perspective, and the utility of this approach for understanding adolescents’ behaviour in the peer context is considered.

Nothing in Popular Culture Makes Sense except in the Light of Evolution

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gad Saad
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Cultural Form ◽  
The Public ◽  
Psychology Today ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Song Lyrics

An evolutionary lens can inform the study of cultural forms in a myriad of ways. These can be construed as adaptations, as exaptations (evolutionary byproducts), as gene–culture interactions, as memes, or as fossils of the human mind. Products of popular culture (e.g., song lyrics, movie themes, romance novels) are to evolutionary cultural theorists what fossils and skeletal remains represent to paleontologists. Although human minds do not fossilize or skeletonize (the cranium does), the cultural products created by human minds do. By identifying universally recurring themes for a given cultural form (song lyrics and collective wisdoms in the current article), spanning a wide range of cultures and time periods, one is able to test key tenets of evolutionary psychology. In addition to using evolutionary psychology to understand the contents of popular culture, the discipline can itself be studied as a contributor to popular culture. Beginning with the sociobiology debates in the 1970s, evolutionary informed analyses of human behavior have engendered great fascination and animus among the public at large. Following a brief summary of studies that have explored the diffusion of the evolutionary behavioral sciences within specific communities (e.g., the British media), I offer a case analysis of the penetration of evolutionary psychology within the blogosphere, specifically the blog community hosted by Psychology Today.

Romantic Partners in a Market Perspective: Expectations about What Ensures a Highly Desirable Partner

2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 605-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe N. Castro ◽  
Wallisen T. Hattori ◽  
Maria Emília Yamamoto ◽  
Fívia A. Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Statistical Models ◽  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Status Characteristics ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Biological Market ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Market Perspective

This study used the biological market perspective and influential statistical models from the marketing field to investigate males' and females' expectations regarding which combination of characteristics are most relevant in ensuring desirable partnerships for same-sex individuals. Thus, 358 Brazilian undergraduates assessed eight descriptions of same-gender stimulus targets (formulated with different levels of physical attractiveness, social skills, and current or prospective social status) and evaluated the overall desirability of the targets' expected or probable partners. From the possible combinations, three groups emerged: for one group, mainly composed of men, status characteristics were the most important attributes; for the others, mostly composed of women, social skills or physical characteristics were identified as most important in appealing to a desirable partner. This work expands the understanding of variability in male and female romantic expectations, and its implications are discussed from an evolutionary perspective.

scholarly journals Pamięć w kulturze teraźniejszości

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-141
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Tarkowska
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
New Media ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Contemporary Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Social Time ◽  
Media And Communication

One of the most substantial interdisciplinary topics in the study of contemporary culture is change in social time, which is expressed in the compression of time (and space) and changing relationships between the past, present, and future. Research and analysis situate the present in an exceptional position in contemporary culture, providing us with the term ‘culture of the present.’ At the same time, however, we are dealing with a phenomenon labeled the ‘explosion of memory’—an astounding multidirectional and multifaceted rise in interest in the past. It is therefore worthwhile to investigate the structures and mechanisms of collective memory, as well as how the past is defined in contemporary culture, from the perspective of time as a social and cultural phenomenon. Questions should be asked regarding the mechanisms that unite the dominance of the present in culture with a rising interest in the past. The perspective of social time reveals that the ‘culture of the present,’ the current dominating forms of memory intensification, and the heightened awareness of the past, are influenced by the same or similar factors. These include new media and communication technologies, as well as consumption and popular culture, which change the structure of time, condense the time horizon, alter the manner in which the past is experienced, and modify the mechanisms of collective memory.

Turkey's Public Diplomacy and Digital Communication Tools

2019 ◽  
pp. 205-225
Author(s):  
Oğuz Göksu
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
International Community ◽  
National Interests ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects

In this chapter, the functional and pragmatic aspects of public diplomacy in Turkey are emphasized. The chapter tries to determine which values of Turkey are highlighted in the public diplomacy perspective. In general terms, it has been argued that the digital communication is an ideological understanding of public diplomacy practices or that the understanding that national interests are held in the forefront is heavy. In this study, two questions were asked in order to establish Turkey's public diplomacy perspective. The first question is What are the messages of Turkey to international community and foreign people in the digital age? The second question is How does Turkey communicate its message to the international community and foreign people in digital age and what tools do they use in this process? The answers to these questions were sought in general. The identified research questions were searched by digital applications, institutions' use of new media, and speech of person of government.

Cultural Political System

2017 ◽  
pp. 221-237
Author(s):  
Kavita Karan
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
New Media ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Indian Cinema ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Political Roles ◽  
Political Songs

The use of popular culture of music, dance, songs, theatre, videos and films for electioneering has been part of the Indian election process. Politics has been the narrative of Indian cinema since the beginning of century where political themes, political roles and political issues were exemplified through lead roles of politicians, enactment of political scenes, political satires and songs. This chapter examines the role of film artists in politics, popular political songs in films and campaign films that have expanded the levels of traditional and new media campaigning in India. Films and songs in the films glorify the country, arouse patriotism and whenever needed expose social issues such as high prices, corruption, feudalism, and other political issues. In the process, political campaign films became a way of marketing parties and candidates. This further characterizes the future of the political cultural system and the political economy of Indian cinema.

Introduction and Background

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna K. Hodgkinson
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
High Status ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
New Kingdom ◽  
The Status ◽  
Status Goods ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
And Control

This book aims to establish knowledge of the infrastructure and organization of the excavated cities in Late Bronze Age (LBA), or New Kingdom Egypt (c.1550–1069 BC), and provide an understanding of the accessibility and control of the high-status products and the raw materials and tools used for their manufacture. This is done by analysing the distribution of the artefactual and structural evidence of the manufacture of high-status goods from three sites used as case-studies, namely Amarna, in Middle Egypt, Gurob, in the Faiyum region, and Malqata, in ancient Thebes (Chapters 2–5). It attempts to achieve some knowledge of the control and distribution of the finished goods, highlighting buildings and areas in the settlements that were involved in the production, and others that would be the consumers of high-status goods. By detecting some mutual patterns between the sites analysed, it has been possible to achieve an understanding of urban high-status manufacture throughout the New Kingdom and its influence on the internal organization and status of settlements. Moving inwards, the study then focuses on workshops, their layouts and functionality (Chapters 6 and 7). A number of research questions will be answered, which address the issues of settlement status, craft production and its social context, the character of workshops as well as their influence on LBA settlements. These questions are presented in Sections 1.1–1.6 together with the data and methods used to address them. In the discussion of the status of a larger settlement we have to take into account the work and opinions of previous scholars. Trigger, for instance, differentiates between two approaches to settlement archaeology as a whole: (a) one focusing on the location, size, spacing, material culture, and activities, as opposed to another (b) focusing on the interactions of their environmental, economic, and technological determinants. While much information concerning the first approach existed by this date, he states that at the time of publication (in the early 1970s) there was still a lack of understanding concerning the economic and technological interactions within the settlements.

Multiple Worlds of Childhood: Culture and the Classroom

2012 ◽  
pp. 380-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chee-Hoo Lum ◽  
Kathryn Marsh
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
Mutual Exchange ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Cultural Renewal ◽  
Multiple Worlds ◽  
The Media

This article investigates the multifaceted worlds of children's musical experience. Reflecting on cultures of childhood, cultural transmission, and cultural renewal, it examines the major changes to children's musical worlds brought about by globalization, migration, and the media. The increasing cultural diversity of these worlds—both real and virtual—provides challenges for teachers working within schools, but also promising prospects of renewed pedagogical practices and resources, particularly those provided by school communities and by the new media, with which children are remarkably adept. Connectedness between schools, communities, and children's own ways of knowing and interrelating with their worlds benefits all participants in this process of mutual exchange.

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