scholarly journals The cultural evolution and ecology of institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1828) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Currie ◽  
Marco Campenni ◽  
Adam Flitton ◽  
Tim Njagi ◽  
Enoch Ontiri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Institutional Diversity ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Over Time

Human societies are structured by what we refer to as ‘institutions’, which are socially created and culturally inherited proscriptions on behaviour that define roles and set expectations about social interactions. The study of institutions in several social science fields has provided many important insights that have not been fully appreciated in the evolutionary human sciences. However, such research has often lacked a shared understanding of general processes of change that shape institutional diversity across space and time. We argue that evolutionary theory can provide a useful framework for synthesizing information from different disciplines to address issues such as how and why institutions change over time, how institutional rules co-evolve with other culturally inherited traits, and the role that ecological factors might play in shaping institutional diversity. We argue that we can gain important insights by applying cultural evolutionary thinking to the study of institutions, but that we also need to expand and adapt our approaches to better handle the ways that institutions work, and how they might change over time. In this paper, we illustrate our approach by describing macro-scale empirical comparative analyses that demonstrate how evolutionary theory can be used to generate and test hypotheses about the processes that have shaped some of the major patterns we see in institutional diversity over time and across the world today. We then go on to discuss how we might usefully develop micro-scale models of institutional change by adapting concepts from game theory and agent-based modelling. We end by considering current challenges and areas for future research, and the potential implications for other areas of study and real-world applications. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Foundations of cultural evolution’.

Rethinking Cultural Evolutionary Psychology

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-492
Author(s):  
Ryan Nichols ◽  
Henrike Moll ◽  
Jacob L. Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Alternative Theories

AbstractThis essay discusses Cecilia Heyes’ groundbreaking new book Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking. Heyes’ point of departure is the claim that current theories of cultural evolution fail adequately to make a place for the mind. Heyes articulates a cognitive psychology of cultural evolution by explaining how eponymous “cognitive gadgets,” such as imitation, mindreading and language, mental technologies, are “tuned” and “assembled” through social interaction and cultural learning. After recapitulating her explanations for the cultural and psychological origins of these gadgets, we turn to criticisms. Among those, we find Heyes’ use of evolutionary theory confusing on several points of importance; alternative theories of cultural evolution, especially those of the Tomasello group and of Boyd, Richerson and Henrich, are misrepresented; the book neglects joint attention and other forms of intersubjectivity in its explanation of the origins of cognitive gadgets; and, whereas Heyes accuses other theories of being “mindblind,” we find her theory ironically other-blind and autistic in character.

scholarly journals Cultural evolutionary theory: How culture evolves and why it matters

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (30) ◽  
pp. 7782-7789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Creanza ◽  
Oren Kolodny ◽  
Marcus W. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Genetic Evolution ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Theoretical Population ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary

Human cultural traits—behaviors, ideas, and technologies that can be learned from other individuals—can exhibit complex patterns of transmission and evolution, and researchers have developed theoretical models, both verbal and mathematical, to facilitate our understanding of these patterns. Many of the first quantitative models of cultural evolution were modified from existing concepts in theoretical population genetics because cultural evolution has many parallels with, as well as clear differences from, genetic evolution. Furthermore, cultural and genetic evolution can interact with one another and influence both transmission and selection. This interaction requires theoretical treatments of gene–culture coevolution and dual inheritance, in addition to purely cultural evolution. In addition, cultural evolutionary theory is a natural component of studies in demography, human ecology, and many other disciplines. Here, we review the core concepts in cultural evolutionary theory as they pertain to the extension of biology through culture, focusing on cultural evolutionary applications in population genetics, ecology, and demography. For each of these disciplines, we review the theoretical literature and highlight relevant empirical studies. We also discuss the societal implications of the study of cultural evolution and of the interactions of humans with one another and with their environment.

Longitudinal Associations of Conscientiousness and Neuroticism With Perceived Mastery and Constraints for Aging Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 016402752199289
Author(s):  
Masahiro Toyama ◽  
Heather R. Fuller ◽  
Joel M. Hektner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Multilevel Modeling ◽  
Perceived Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Longitudinal Associations ◽  
Aging Adults ◽  
Perceived Constraints ◽  
Over Time

It has not been well understood how conscientiousness and neuroticism are associated with two related but distinct dimensions of perceived control (i.e., perceived mastery and constraints) among aging adults. The present study examined these associations and their change over time, while addressing whether they differ by age or gender. For respondents aged 50+ at baseline (N = 2,768) in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to assess how conscientiousness and neuroticism predicted perceived mastery and constraints over 2 decades. As expected, higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism (for both between- and within-person variability) predicted higher perceived mastery and lower perceived constraints overall. Nuanced findings emerged related to age, gender and change over time for different associations of conscientiousness and neuroticism with the outcomes. These findings can inform future research suggesting directions of further investigations for these complex associations.

EDITORIAL — CULTURAL EVOLUTION IN SPATIALLY STRUCTURED POPULATIONS: A REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE MODELING FRAMEWORKS

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 1203001 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE KANDLER ◽  
CHARLES PERREAULT ◽  
JAMES STEELE
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Diffusion Theory ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Spatially Structured Populations ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Spatially Explicit Modeling

We consider the dynamics of cultural evolution in spatially-structured populations. Most spatially explicit modeling approaches can be broadly divided into two classes: micro- and macro-level models. Macro-level models study cultural evolution at the population level and describe the average behavior of the considered system. Conversely, micro-level models focus on the constituent units of the system, and study the evolutionary dynamics that emerge out of the interaction between these units. In this paper, we give an overview of the general properties of micro- and macro-level models using the examples of agent-based simulations and of continuum models based in diffusion theory; we highlight how both frameworks account for spatially-dependent processes. We argue that both micro- and macro-level models are well-suited to describe the process of cultural evolution in spatial settings and stress that micro- and macro-level models should not be considered as competing alternatives, but rather as complementary tools that can provide different insights into cultural evolutionary dynamics. Although adding spatial components to any model increases its complexity, we argue (based on the findings presented by contributors to this Special Issue of Advances in Complex Systems), that the incorporation of space into the evolutionary framework is a necessary step towards a more complete understanding of the process of cultural evolution.

scholarly journals The Cultural Evolution of Human Nature

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Stanford
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Evolutionary Synthesis ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Ontological Framework

Abstract Recent years have seen the growing promise of cultural evolutionary theory as a new approach to bringing human behaviour fully within the broader evolutionary synthesis. This review of two recent seminal works on this topic argues that cultural evolution now holds the potential to bring together fields as disparate as neuroscience and social anthropology within a unified explanatory and ontological framework.

scholarly journals How Darwinian is cultural evolution?

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1642) ◽  
pp. 20130368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Claidière ◽  
Thomas C. Scott-Phillips ◽  
Dan Sperber
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Population Thinking ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Darwinian Selection ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Made In

Darwin-inspired population thinking suggests approaching culture as a population of items of different types, whose relative frequencies may change over time. Three nested subtypes of populational models can be distinguished: evolutionary, selectional and replicative. Substantial progress has been made in the study of cultural evolution by modelling it within the selectional frame. This progress has involved idealizing away from phenomena that may be critical to an adequate understanding of culture and cultural evolution, particularly the constructive aspect of the mechanisms of cultural transmission. Taking these aspects into account, we describe cultural evolution in terms of cultural attraction , which is populational and evolutionary, but only selectional under certain circumstances. As such, in order to model cultural evolution, we must not simply adjust existing replicative or selectional models but we should rather generalize them, so that, just as replicator-based selection is one form that Darwinian selection can take, selection itself is one of several different forms that attraction can take. We present an elementary formalization of the idea of cultural attraction.

Female and male song exhibit both parallel and divergent patterns of cultural evolution: A long-term study of song structure and diversity in tropical wrens

The Auk ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan A Graham ◽  
Daniel D Heath ◽  
Daniel J Mennill
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Song Types ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Animal culture changes over time through processes that include drift, immigration, selection, and innovation. Cultural change has been particularly well-studied for animal vocalizations, especially for the vocalizations of male animals in the temperate zone. Here we examine the cultural change in the vocalizations of tropical Rufous-and-white Wrens (Thryophilus rufalbus), quantifying temporal variation in song structure, song type diversity, and population-level distribution of song types in both males and females. We use data from 10 microsatellite loci to quantify patterns of immigration and neutral genetic differentiation over time, to investigate whether cultural diversity changes with rates of immigration. Based on 11 yr of data, we show that the spectro-temporal features of several widely-used persistent song types maintain a relatively high level of consistency for both males and females, whereas the distribution and frequency of particular song types change over time for both sexes. Males and females exhibit comparable levels of cultural diversity (i.e. the diversity of song types across the population), although females exhibit greater rates of cultural change over time. We found that female changes in cultural diversity increased when immigration is high, whereas male cultural diversity did not change with immigration. Our study is the first long-term study to explore cultural evolution for both male and female birds and suggests that cultural patterns exhibit notable differences between the sexes.

Cultural Evolution with Social Categories

2019 ◽  
pp. 58-83
Author(s):  
Cailin O'Connor
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Patterns Of Behavior ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Over Time

This chapter looks at evolutionary models capable of representing the emergence of conventions between actors in different social groups. From a starting point of uncoordinated behavior, groups move toward states where everyone follows unified patterns in a way that tends to lead to successful outcomes. This cultural evolution is driven by social learning. Once groups have arrived at these coordinated behaviors they tend to remain there, so that the patterns of behavior persist over time. As the chapter shows, the addition of social categories radically changes the cultural evolutionary process. In particular, groups with categories reach the inequitable, but efficient, outcomes described in the last chapter.

scholarly journals The Role of the Learner in the Cultural Evolution of Vocalizations

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby Chopoorian ◽  
Yakov Pichkar ◽  
Nicole Creanza
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Learned Behaviors ◽  
Cultural Traits ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Over Time

As a uniquely human behavior, language is crucial to our understanding of ourselves and of the world around us. Despite centuries of research into how languages have historically developed and how people learn them, fully understanding the origin and evolution of language remains an ongoing challenge. In parallel, researchers have studied the divergence of birdsong in vocal-learning songbirds to uncover broader patterns of cultural evolution. One approach to studying cultural change over time, adapted from biology, focuses on the transmission of socially learned traits, including language, in a population. By studying how learning and the distribution of cultural traits interact at the population level, we can better understand the processes that underlie cultural evolution. Here, we take a two-fold approach to understanding the cultural evolution of vocalizations, with a focus on the role of the learner in cultural transmission. First, we explore previous research on the evolution of social learning, focusing on recent progress regarding the origin and ongoing cultural evolution of both language and birdsong. We then use a spatially explicit population model to investigate the coevolution of culture and learning preferences, with the assumption that selection acts directly on cultural phenotypes and indirectly on learning preferences. Our results suggest that the spatial distribution of learned behaviors can cause unexpected evolutionary patterns of learning. We find that, intuitively, selection for rare cultural phenotypes can indirectly favor a novelty-biased learning strategy. In contrast, selection for common cultural phenotypes leads to cultural homogeneity; we find that there is no selective pressure on learning strategy without cultural variation. Thus, counterintuitively, selection for common cultural traits does not consistently favor conformity bias, and novelty bias can stably persist in this cultural context. We propose that the evolutionary dynamics of learning preferences and cultural biases can depend on the existing variation of learned behaviors, and that this interaction could be important to understanding the origin and evolution of cultural systems such as language and birdsong. Selection acting on learned behaviors may indirectly impose counterintuitive selective pressures on learning strategies, and understanding the cultural landscape is crucial to understanding how patterns of learning might change over time.

scholarly journals A Particular Kind of Wonder: The Experience of Magic past and Present

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lamont
Keyword(s):  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Magic Trick ◽  
Over Time

Wonder may be an important emotion, but the term wonder is remarkably ambiguous. For centuries, in psychological discourse, it has been defined as a variety of things. In an attempt to be more focused, and given the growing scientific interest in magic, this article describes a particular kind of wonder: the response to a magic trick. It first provides a historical perspective by considering continuity and change over time in this experience, and argues that, in certain respects, this particular kind of wonder has changed. It then describes in detail the experience of magic, considers the extent to which it might be considered acquired rather than innate, and how it relates to other emotions, such as surprise. In the process, it discusses the role of belief and offers some suggestions for future research. It concludes by noting the importance of context and meaning in shaping the nature of the experience, and argues for the value of both experimental and historical research in the attempt to understand such experiences.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document