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Experimental and theoretical models of human cultural evolution

Kempe, M.; Mesoudi, A.

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Authors

M. Kempe

A. Mesoudi



Abstract

The modern field of cultural evolution is now over 30 years old, and an extensive body of theory and data has been amassed. This article reviews models of cultural evolution, both experimental and theoretical, and surveys what they can tell us about cultural evolutionary processes. The models are grouped according to which of four broad questions they address: (1) How are cultural traits changed during transmission? (2) How and why do cultural traits accumulate over time? (3) What social learning biases do people use? and (4) What are the population-level consequences of different social learning biases? We conclude by highlighting gaps in the literature and promising future research directions, including the further integration of theoretical models and experimental data, the identification of the factors underlying cumulative cultural evolution, and the explanation of individual and cultural variation in social learning biases.

Citation

Kempe, M., & Mesoudi, A. (2014). Experimental and theoretical models of human cultural evolution. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 5(3), 317-326. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1288

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date May 1, 2014
Deposit Date May 16, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science
Print ISSN 1939-5078
Electronic ISSN 1939-5086
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Issue 3
Pages 317-326
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1288

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Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Kempe, M. and Mesoudi, A. (2014) 'Experimental and theoretical models of human cultural evolution.', Wiley interdisciplinary reviews : cognitive science., 5 (3). pp. 317-326 which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1288. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.





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