Lectures 16, 17, 18: Social Learning & Culture Introduction Types and Mechanisms of Social Learning Tool Use Culture deWaal Japanese research Chimp Culture? Dolphin Culture? General thoughts?
Dec 17, 2015
Lectures 16, 17, 18: Social Learning & Culture
Introduction
Types and Mechanisms of Social Learning
Tool Use
Culture
deWaal
Japanese research
Chimp Culture?
Dolphin Culture?
General thoughts?
Culture
deWaal’s Theory
- sushi-making analogy (master and apprentice)
- examples of culturally-transmitted behaviours
- ‘knowledge and habits acquired from others’
- Japanese animal research…
The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections of a Primatologist
Culture
Japanese Research
- primatology (Japanese Macaque)
- techniques & theories
- provisioning, naming
- not as much human/animal dualism
Japanese Research in Animal Cognition
Culture
Japanese Research
Imanishi (1940s, 1950s)
- criticized Western views
- animal culture
If individuals learn from one another, the group’s behaviour might start to become different from other groups, creating a characteristic culture.
Culture
Japanese Research
- Western criticism
- now: adoption of concepts and approaches
Japanese Research in Animal Cognition
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
- variation in behaviour observed in wild
Whiten et al. (1999): Cultures in Chimpanzees (Nature)
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
- variation in behaviour observed in wild
- systematic analysis
Whiten et al. (1999): Cultures in Chimpanzees (Nature)
Andrew Whiten, University of Saint Andrews, UK
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
- List of behaviours that might be cultural variants
- characterized 65 candidates
- Customary
- Habitual
- Present
- Absent
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
- Example: Ant Dipping
- Tai Forest and Ivory Coast: short stick, directly to mouth
- Gombe: long stick, swiping action (But nearby Mahale group doesn’t do it)
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
- Criteria for ‘cultural’:
- social learners; juveniles observe adults
- ecology is not plausible explanation
- genetic transmission is not plausible (differences in nearby communities)
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
Horner, Whiten, Flynn, de Waal (2006): “Faithful replication of foraging techniques along cultural transmission chain by chimpanzees and children”
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
Horner, Whiten, Flynn, de Waal (2006)
Results:
Chimps: High fidelity of transmission
- even though without modeling, chimps would discover both options for opening
“Chimpanzees have a capacity to sustain local traditions across multiple simulated generations”
Culture
Dolphin Cultures?
- Not ecology
- Transmitted through generations
- matriline
Krutzen et al. (2005): Cultural Transmission of Tool Use in Bottlenose Dolphins
Culture
Dolphin Cultures?
- Not ecology
- Transmitted through generations
- matriline
- Not genetic transmission
- would expect more spread
- Show good emulation/imitation in captivity
Krutzen et al. (2005): Cultural Transmission of Tool Use in Bottlenose Dolphins
Culture
Whale Culture?
Garland et al. (2011): Dynamic Horizontal Cultural Transmission of Humpback Whale Song at the Ocean Basin Scale
Culture
Whale Culture?
Garland et al. (2011): Dynamic Horizontal Cultural Transmission of Humpback Whale Song at the Ocean Basin Scale
-Social learning
-Not genetic transmission
- spread across genetically diverse populations
-Not ecology
So what can we conclude?
- Inclusive definition of culture that reflects continuity between animals and humans?
- yet human culture is different
Culture
Human Cultures?
Dean et al. (2012): Identification of the Social and Cognitive Processes Underlying Human Culture
-Teaching, Language, Imitation, & Prosociality
Culture
Human Cultures?
Dean et al. (2012): Identification of the Social and Cognitive Processes Underlying Human Culture
-Teaching, Language, Imitation, & Prosociality
So what can we conclude?
- Inclusive definition of culture that reflects continuity between animals and humans?
- yet human culture is different
- Arguments based on how we see ourselves: it’s a philosophical argument
- deWaal: “the perception of animals as cultured is as much a philosophical stance as the denial of animal culture”