L.G. Dean
Identification of the social and cognitive processes underlying human cumulative culture
Dean, L.G.; Kendal, R.L.; Schapiro, S.J.; Thierry, B.; Laland, K.N.
Authors
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.
Citation
Dean, L., Kendal, R., Schapiro, S., Thierry, B., & Laland, K. (2012). Identification of the social and cognitive processes underlying human cumulative culture. Science, 335(6072), 1114-1118. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1213969
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Mar 1, 2012 |
Deposit Date | Jan 30, 2012 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 29, 2024 |
Journal | Science |
Print ISSN | 0036-8075 |
Electronic ISSN | 1095-9203 |
Publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 335 |
Issue | 6072 |
Pages | 1114-1118 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1213969 |
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Copyright Statement
This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science {335, 2012}, doi:10.1126/science.1213969
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