scholarly journals Ingredients of ‘rituals’ and their cognitive underpinnings

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1805) ◽  
pp. 20190439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Boyer ◽  
Pierre Liénard
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Scientific Object ◽  
Diverse Interactions

Ritual is not a proper scientific object, as the term is used to denote disparate forms of behaviour, on the basis of a faint family resemblance. Indeed, a variety of distinct cognitive mechanisms are engaged, in various combinations, in the diverse interactions called ‘rituals’ – and each of these mechanisms deserves study, in terms of its evolutionary underpinnings and cultural consequences. We identify four such mechanisms that each appear in some ‘rituals’, namely (i) the normative scripting of actions; (ii) the use of interactions to signal coalitional identity, affiliation, cohesiveness; (iii) magical claims based on intuitive expectations of contagion; and (iv) ritualized behaviour based on a specific handling of the flow of behaviour. We describe the cognitive and evolutionary background to each of these potential components of ‘rituals’, and their effects on cultural transmission. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ritual renaissance: new insights into the most human of behaviours'.

scholarly journals The evolution of cognitive mechanisms in response to cultural innovations

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (30) ◽  
pp. 7915-7922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnon Lotem ◽  
Joseph Y. Halpern ◽  
Shimon Edelman ◽  
Oren Kolodny
Keyword(s):  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Cognitive Evolution ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Effective Network ◽  
Process Level

When humans and other animals make cultural innovations, they also change their environment, thereby imposing new selective pressures that can modify their biological traits. For example, there is evidence that dairy farming by humans favored alleles for adult lactose tolerance. Similarly, the invention of cooking possibly affected the evolution of jaw and tooth morphology. However, when it comes to cognitive traits and learning mechanisms, it is much more difficult to determine whether and how their evolution was affected by culture or by their use in cultural transmission. Here we argue that, excluding very recent cultural innovations, the assumption that culture shaped the evolution of cognition is both more parsimonious and more productive than assuming the opposite. In considering how culture shapes cognition, we suggest that a process-level model of cognitive evolution is necessary and offer such a model. The model employs relatively simple coevolving mechanisms of learning and data acquisition that jointly construct a complex network of a type previously shown to be capable of supporting a range of cognitive abilities. The evolution of cognition, and thus the effect of culture on cognitive evolution, is captured through small modifications of these coevolving learning and data-acquisition mechanisms, whose coordinated action is critical for building an effective network. We use the model to show how these mechanisms are likely to evolve in response to cultural phenomena, such as language and tool-making, which are associated with major changes in data patterns and with new computational and statistical challenges.

scholarly journals Evaluating the relative contributions of copying and reconstruction processes in cultural transmission episodes

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256901
Author(s):  
James W. A. Strachan ◽  
Arianna Curioni ◽  
Merryn D. Constable ◽  
Günther Knoblich ◽  
Mathieu Charbonneau
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Transmission Chain ◽  
Pragmatic Inference ◽  
The One

The ability to transmit information between individuals through social learning is a foundational component of cultural evolution. However, how this transmission occurs is still debated. On the one hand, the copying account draws parallels with biological mechanisms for genetic inheritance, arguing that learners copy what they observe and novel variations occur through random copying errors. On the other hand, the reconstruction account claims that, rather than directly copying behaviour, learners reconstruct the information that they believe to be most relevant on the basis of pragmatic inference, environmental and contextual cues. Distinguishing these two accounts empirically is difficult based on data from typical transmission chain studies because the predictions they generate frequently overlap. In this study we present a methodological approach that generates different predictions of these accounts by manipulating the task context between model and learner in a transmission episode. We then report an empirical proof-of-concept that applies this approach. The results show that, when a model introduces context-dependent embedded signals to their actions that are not intended to be transmitted, it is possible to empirically distinguish between competing predictions made by these two accounts. Our approach can therefore serve to understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms at play in cultural transmission and can make important contributions to the debate between preservative and reconstructive schools of thought.

scholarly journals Why are you amused: Unveiling multimodal humor from the prototype theoretical perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Qiaoyun Chen ◽  
Guiying Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Prototype Theory ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
The Family ◽  
Semiotic Approach ◽  
Incongruity Theory ◽  
Linguistic Categories

This paper looks at multimodal humour through the lens of prototype theory in the framework of conventional incongruity theory of humour, aiming for a unified linguistic and semiotic approach to humour. From this perspective, humour can be achieved through the following three aspects of linguistic and non-linguistic categories: 1) prototypicality versus non-prototypicality of category members; 2) the family resemblance shared by category members; 3) vague inter-categorical boundary. The cognitive mechanisms behind this type of multimodal humour and its comprehension are discussed. The intermodal relationships involved are examined and categorised into two major types: complementary and non-complementary ones.

scholarly journals Scratching beneath the surface: intentionality in great ape signal production

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20180403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty E. Graham ◽  
Claudia Wilke ◽  
Nicole J. Lahiff ◽  
Katie E. Slocombe
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Great Ape ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Intentional Communication ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Signal Production ◽  
Communicative Signals

Despite important similarities having been found between human and animal communication systems, surprisingly little research effort has focussed on whether the cognitive mechanisms underpinning these behaviours are also similar. In particular, it is highly debated whether signal production is the result of reflexive processes, or can be characterized as intentional. Here, we critically evaluate the criteria that are used to identify signals produced with different degrees of intentionality, and discuss recent attempts to apply these criteria to the vocal, gestural and multimodal communicative signals of great apes and more distantly related species. Finally, we outline the necessary research tools, such as physiologically validated measures of arousal, and empirical evidence that we believe would propel this debate forward and help unravel the evolutionary origins of human intentional communication. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

Cultural Transmission of Precautionary Ideas: The Weighted Role of Implicit Motivation

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 415-435
Author(s):  
Michal Fux
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Life History Strategy ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Death Rituals ◽  
Implicit Motivation ◽  
Direct Reports ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Cultural Concepts

Inspired by the idea that cognitive systems evoke cultural phenomena, this study tested a theory suggesting precautionary cognitive mechanisms as both a constraint and an enabler of transmission of cultural concepts such as religious rituals. Using ‘restricted range of themes’ as a link between precautionary cognition and religious rituals, this cross cultural study of Zulu communities in sa tested people’s inferences about implications of failure to perform life-stage rituals in order to identify the nature of the presence of precautionary themes in Zulu rituals and any involvement of environmental factors. The results reflected inferences rather than echoing of formal descriptions of rituals, and revealed a consistent affinity between certain threat-domains and specific Zulu rituals: birth and early age rituals evoked the Contamination/Contagion domain, women’s maturity rituals evoked the Decline in Resources domain, marital rituals evoked a mixture of Decline in Resources and Loss of Status domains, and death rituals evoked the Predation/Assault domain. This suggests that precautionary cognition effect on religious rituals is mediated by life-history strategy rather than by ecology factors, and also, that understanding precautionary cognition is crucial for uncovering the real motivations for religious behaviour, as direct reports cannot be taken at face value.

scholarly journals Big brains, small worlds: material culture and the evolution of the mind

2008 ◽  
Vol 363 (1499) ◽  
pp. 1969-1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Coward ◽  
Clive Gamble
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Hominin Evolution ◽  
Extant Primate ◽  
The Mind

New developments in neuroimaging have demonstrated that the basic capacities underpinning human social skills are shared by our closest extant primate relatives. The challenge for archaeologists is to explain how complex human societies evolved from this shared pattern of face-to-face social interaction. We argue that a key process was the gradual incorporation of material culture into social networks over the course of hominin evolution. Here we use three long-term processes in hominin evolution—encephalization, the global human diaspora and sedentism/agriculture—to illustrate how the cultural transmission of material culture allowed the ‘scaling up’ of face-to-face social interactions to the global societies known today. We conclude that future research by neuroimagers and archaeologists will need to investigate the cognitive mechanisms behind human engagement with material culture as well as other persons.

scholarly journals The case of CAUSE: neurobiological mechanisms for grounding an abstract concept

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedemann Pulvermüller
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Abstract Concept ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
The Brain

How can we understand causal relationships and how can we understand words such as ‘cause’? Some theorists assume that the underlying abstract concept is given to us, and that perceptual correlation provides the relevant hints towards inferring causation from perceived real-life events. A different approach emphasizes the role of actions and their typical consequences for the emergence of the concept of causation and the application of the related term. A model of causation is proposed that highlights thefamily resemblancebetween causal actions and postulates that symbols are necessary forbinding together the different partially shared semantic features of subsetsof causal actions and their goals. Linguistic symbols are proposed to play a key role in binding the different subsets of semantic features of the abstract concept. The model is spelt out at the neuromechanistic level of distributed cortical circuits and the cognitive functions they carry. The model is discussed in light of behavioural and neuroscience evidence, and questions for future research are highlighted. In sum, taking causation as a concrete example, I argue that abstract concepts and words can be learnt and grounded in real-life interaction, and that the neurobiological mechanisms realizing such abstract semantic grounding are within our grasp.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.

scholarly journals Causes and consequences of female centrality in cetacean societies

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1780) ◽  
pp. 20180066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Rendell ◽  
Mauricio Cantor ◽  
Shane Gero ◽  
Hal Whitehead ◽  
Janet Mann
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
Deep Diving ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Maternal Input ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Reproductive Rates

Cetaceans are fully aquatic predatory mammals that have successfully colonized virtually all marine habitats. Their adaptation to these habitats, so radically different from those of their terrestrial ancestors, can give us comparative insights into the evolution of female roles and kinship in mammalian societies. We provide a review of the diversity of such roles across the Cetacea, which are unified by some key and apparently invariable life-history features. Mothers are uniparous, while paternal care is completely absent as far as we currently know. Maternal input is extensive, lasting months to many years. Hence, female reproductive rates are low, every cetacean calf is a significant investment, and offspring care is central to female fitness. Here strategies diverge, especially between toothed and baleen whales, in terms of mother–calf association and related social structures, which range from ephemeral grouping patterns to stable, multi-level, societies in which social groups are strongly organized around female kinship. Some species exhibit social and/or spatial philopatry in both sexes, a rare phenomenon in vertebrates. Communal care can be vital, especially among deep-diving species, and can be supported by female kinship. Female-based sociality, in its diverse forms, is therefore a prevailing feature of cetacean societies. Beyond the key role in offspring survival, it provides the substrate for significant vertical and horizontal cultural transmission, as well as the only definitive non-human examples of menopause. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals’.

Religious attendance and frequency of alcohol use: same genes or same environments: a bivariate extended twin kinship model

Twin Research ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine H Maes ◽  
Michael C Neale ◽  
Nicholas G Martin ◽  
Andrew C Heath ◽  
Lindon J Eaves
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Church Attendance ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Bivariate Model ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractReligious attendance has been shown to correlate negatively with alcohol use. We investigated whether this relationship is driven by genetic or environmental factors. Data on frequency of church attendance and frequency of alcohol use were obtained from twins and their families in the Virginia 30 000 study. A comprehensive bivariate model of family resemblance was fitted to the data using Mx. This model is described in detail. Results indicate that genetic factors primarily account for the relationship between alcohol and church attendance in males, whilst shared environmental factors, including cultural transmission and genotype-environment covariance, are stronger determinants of this association in females.

scholarly journals Flexible Mx Specification of Various Extended Twin Kinship Designs

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermine H. Maes ◽  
Michael C. Neale ◽  
Sarah E. Medland ◽  
Matthew C. Keller ◽  
Nicholas G. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Church Attendance ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Multiple Phenotypes ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Children Of Twins ◽  
Genes And Environment ◽  
Simultaneous Testing ◽  
Estimation Of Variance

AbstractThe extended twin kinship design allows the simultaneous testing of additive and nonadditive genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental factors, as well as sex differences in the expression of genes and environment in the presence of assortative mating and combined genetic and cultural transmission (Eaves et al., 1999). It also handles the contribution of these sources of variance to the (co)variation of multiple phenotypes. Keller et al. (2008) extended this comprehensive model for family resemblance to allow or a flexible specification of assortment and vertical transmission. As such, it provides a general framework which can easily be reduced to fit subsets of data such as twin-parent data, children-of-twins data, etc. A flexible Mx specification of this model that allows handling of these various designs is presented in detail and applied to data from the Virginia 30,000. Data on height, body mass index, smoking status, church attendance, and political affiliation were obtained from twins and their families. Results indicate that biases in the estimation of variance components depend both on the types of relative available for analysis, and on the underlying genetic and environmental architecture of the phenotype of interest.

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