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

- 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.

Koshima Island

Sweet Potato Washing (Imo)

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)

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?

- 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?

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”