Identification of the Social and Cognitive Processes Underlying Human Cumulative Culture

Overview

Journal Science

Specialty Science

Date 2012 Mar 3

PMID 22383851

Citations 125

Authors

L G Dean

R L Kendal

S J Schapiro

B Thierry

K N Laland

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The remarkable ecological and demographic success of humanity is largely attributed to our capacity for cumulative culture, with knowledge and technology accumulating over time, yet the social and cognitive capabilities that have enabled cumulative culture remain unclear. In a comparative study of sequential problem solving, we provided groups of capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees, and children with an experimental puzzlebox that could be solved in three stages to retrieve rewards of increasing desirability. The success of the children, but not of the chimpanzees or capuchins, in reaching higher-level solutions was strongly associated with a package of sociocognitive processes-including teaching through verbal instruction, imitation, and prosociality-that were observed only in the children and covaried with performance.

Citing Articles

When to stop social learning from a predecessor in an information-foraging task.

Suganuma H, Naito A, Katahira K, Kameda T Evol Hum Sci. 2025; 7:e2.

PMID: 39935447 PMC: 11810515. DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2024.29.

Social tolerance and success-biased social learning underlie the cultural transmission of an induced extractive foraging tradition in a wild tool-using primate.

Coelho C, Garcia-Nisa I, Ottoni E, Kendal R Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(48):e2322884121.

PMID: 39556750 PMC: 11621824. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2322884121.

Toward an Etiology of Spaceflight Neuroplastic Syndrome: Evolutionary Science Leads to New Hypotheses and Program Priorities.

Rappaport M, Corbally C NeuroSci. 2024; 4(4):247-262.

PMID: 39484176 PMC: 11523727. DOI: 10.3390/neurosci4040021.

Neuroplasticity as a Foundation for Decision-Making in Space.

Rappaport M, Corbally C NeuroSci. 2024; 3(3):457-475.

PMID: 39483427 PMC: 11523684. DOI: 10.3390/neurosci3030033.

The refinement paradox and cumulative cultural evolution: Complex products of collective improvement favor conformist outcomes, blind copying, and hyper-credulity.

Miu E, Rendell L, Bowles S, Boyd R, Cownden D, Enquist M PLoS Comput Biol. 2024; 20(9):e1012436.

PMID: 39325687 PMC: 11426424. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012436.

References

Tennie C, Call J, Tomasello M . Ratcheting up the ratchet: on the evolution of cumulative culture. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009; 364(1528):2405-15. PMC: 2865079. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0052. View

Hunt G, Gray R . Diversification and cumulative evolution in New Caledonian crow tool manufacture. Proc Biol Sci. 2003; 270(1517):867-74. PMC: 1691310. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2002.2302. View

Biro D, Inoue-Nakamura N, Tonooka R, Yamakoshi G, Sousa C, Matsuzawa T . Cultural innovation and transmission of tool use in wild chimpanzees: evidence from field experiments. Anim Cogn. 2003; 6(4):213-23. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-003-0183-x. View

Wood D, BRUNER J, Ross G . The role of tutoring in problem solving. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1976; 17(2):89-100. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x. View

Hill K, Walker R, Bozicevic M, Eder J, Headland T, Hewlett B . Co-residence patterns in hunter-gatherer societies show unique human social structure. Science. 2011; 331(6022):1286-9. DOI: 10.1126/science.1199071. View

Dindo M, Thierry B, Whiten A . Social diffusion of novel foraging methods in brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Proc Biol Sci. 2007; 275(1631):187-93. PMC: 2596191. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.1318. View

Enquist M, Ghirlanda S . Evolution of social learning does not explain the origin of human cumulative culture. J Theor Biol. 2007; 246(1):129-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2006.12.022. View

Herrmann E, Call J, Hernandez-Lloreda M, Hare B, Tomasello M . Humans have evolved specialized skills of social cognition: the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Science. 2007; 317(5843):1360-6. DOI: 10.1126/science.1146282. View

Kendal R, Kendal J, Hoppitt W, Laland K . Identifying social learning in animal populations: a new 'option-bias' method. PLoS One. 2009; 4(8):e6541. PMC: 2717327. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006541. View

10.

Whiten A, Spiteri A, Horner V, Bonnie K, Lambeth S, Schapiro S . Transmission of multiple traditions within and between chimpanzee groups. Curr Biol. 2007; 17(12):1038-43. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.031. View

11.

Galef B . The question of animal culture. Hum Nat. 2013; 3(2):157-78. DOI: 10.1007/BF02692251. View

12.

Laland K . Social learning strategies. Learn Behav. 2004; 32(1):4-14. DOI: 10.3758/bf03196002. View

13.

Tomasello M, Carpenter M, Call J, Behne T, Moll H . Understanding and sharing intentions: the origins of cultural cognition. Behav Brain Sci. 2005; 28(5):675-91. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X05000129. View

14.

Hrubesch C, Preuschoft S, van Schaik C . Skill mastery inhibits adoption of observed alternative solutions among chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Anim Cogn. 2008; 12(2):209-16. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-008-0183-y. View

15.

Marshall-Pescini S, Whiten A . Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and the question of cumulative culture: an experimental approach. Anim Cogn. 2008; 11(3):449-56. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-007-0135-y. View

16.

Whiten A, Goodall J, McGrew W, Nishida T, Reynolds V, Sugiyama Y . Cultures in chimpanzees. Nature. 1999; 399(6737):682-5. DOI: 10.1038/21415. View