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
Emory University (Georgia, USA)
The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural
Reflections of a Primatologist
Culture
deWaal’s Theory
The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural
Reflections of a Primatologist
- sushi-making analogy (master and apprentice)
- examples of culturally-transmitted behaviours
- ‘knowledge and habits acquired from
others’
- Japanese animal research…
Culture
Japanese Research
Japanese Research in Animal Cognition
- primatology (Japanese Macaque)
- techniques & theories
- provisioning, naming
- not as much human/animal dualism
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.
Koshima Island
Sweet Potato Washing (Imo)
Culture
Japanese Research
Japanese Research in Animal Cognition
- Western criticism
- now: adoption of concepts and approaches
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
Whiten et al. (1999): Cultures in Chimpanzees
(Nature)
- variation in behaviour observed in wild
Culture
Chimpanzee Cultures?
Whiten et al. (1999): Cultures in Chimpanzees
(Nature)
- variation in behaviour observed in wild
- systematic analysis
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)
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?
Culture
Dolphin Cultures?
- sex based to females
- only one male ever observed sponging
Culture
Dolphin Cultures?
Krutzen et al. (2005): Cultural Transmission of
Tool Use in Bottlenose Dolphins
- Not ecology
- Transmitted through generations
- matriline
Culture
Dolphin Cultures?
Krutzen et al. (2005): Cultural Transmission of
Tool Use in Bottlenose Dolphins
- Not ecology
- Transmitted through generations
- matriline
- Not genetic transmission
- would expect more spread
- Show good emulation/imitation in captivity
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?
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”