Culture

Question 1

Who said the quote: “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans”

Answer 1

Louis Leakey

Question 2

How does cultural evolution proceed?

Answer 2

In a similar way as genetic/biological evolution, by a Darwinian process

Question 3

Why does cultural evolution proceed like a Darwinian process?

Answer 3

It has all the requirements for natural selection:
1) Variance (in behaviour)
2) Inheritance (horizontal and vertical)
3) Competition
4) Differential success

Question 4

What does cultural evolution rely on?

Answer 4

Social learning

Question 5

What is cumulative cultural evolution (CCE)?

Answer 5

Adaptive modifications that accumulate over evolutionary time, leading to incremental improvement of material and symbolic artifact, as well as complexity

Question 6

What is cross-domain prestige bias?

Answer 6

Copying the behaviour of others who are famous or of high status

Question 7

What is conformity bias?

Answer 7

Copying the behaviour of the majority of group members

Question 8

What does CCE rely on?

Answer 8

Faithful copying and cultural transmission

Question 9

How can faithful copying and cultural transmission be dangerous?

Answer 9

Dangerous in the sense that copying others without critically thinking about one’s actions can lead to detrimental effects

Question 10

How was culture defined in the 1870s?

Answer 10

It was defined as exclusive to humans: “complex whole…capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”

Question 11

What was suggested by the human-centric definition of culture?

Answer 11

1) Culture is not necessarily essential (to survival)
2) Culture is acquired (no genetic roots)
3) Culture is characteristic of a social group

Question 12

What is another definition of culture proposed which is unrestricted to human traits?

Answer 12

“A cultural behaviour is transmitted repeatedly through social or observational learning to become a population-level characteristic” (i.e., behavioural variation that cannot be explained by genetics or ecology)

Question 13

What are 5 examples of cultural attributes in chimpanzees?

Answer 13

1) Tool use (e.g., sponging with leaves, hammering with a rock)
2) Inspecting wounds and “curing” ailments with plants
3) Throwing
4) Squashing and inspecting parasites
5) Leaf-clipping (biting leaves without consuming)

Question 14

What is an example of ecology as a source of difference in behaviour between populations?

Answer 14

Termite fishing may only occur in wherever fishable termites occur

Question 15

What is an example of culture as a source of difference in behaviour between populations?

Answer 15

1) Nut-cracking appears to only occur among West African chimpanzees despite nuts and stones being available through Africa
2) Overhead clasping during grooming (lots of variation in the way chimpanzees hold up each other’s arms)

Question 16

Which is a better explanation for variation in behaviour: culture or ecology?

Answer 16

More likely that behaviours are cultural and differ in ways that are mostly arbitray

Question 17

What is an example of why ecology cannot be completely discounted when analyzing differences in behaviour?

Answer 17

For nut cracking, perhaps variability in behaviour between West and East African chimpanzees is due to the quality of nuts varying throughout the area

Question 18

What is the definition for cultural behaviour?

Answer 18

A non-ecological social tradition

Question 19

Describe the experiment done to test for culture in 2 Chimpanzee populations living in Uganda

Answer 19

1) 2 Chimpanzee populations: leaf-using (Sonso community) and stick-using (Kanyawara community), otherwise sharing similar genetics/ecology
2) Objective was to determine if cultural knowledge biases the solution to a novel problem
3) The problem = obtaining honey that was not finger-accessible from a tree hole
4) If the behaviours were cultural = responses would be biased towards specific tool-use
5) If behaviours were not cultural = variability in responses

Question 20

What were the results of the Sonso/Kanyawara community study with honey?

Answer 20

Individuals maintained the tool-behaviour of their community in the face of a novel problem, indicating cultural-bias (they rely on cultural knowledge to solve a novel task)

Question 21

What are the evidence to suggest that tool-use can be beneficial?

Answer 21

1) Nuts cracked by chimpanzees account for 30% of their calories per month (seasonally) - particularly important during food-poor seasons
2) Capuchins select the heaviest/sturdiest rock to break pine nuts, improving the quality of their diet

Question 22

What are the 3 possible causes for differences in behaviour?

Answer 22

1) Ecology
2) Genetics
3) Culture

Question 23

Who were the first monkeys known for tool-use?

Answer 23

Capuchins

Question 24

What are the data on how Capuchin tool-use can improve the quality of their diet?

Answer 24

1) Tool use increased net energy gain by 50% despite amount of food not differing between days of tool-use and no use
2) Less fiber is consumed which allows for higher absorption of nutrients
3) Increased intake of non-protein energy (carbs and fat)
4) Protein intake is maintained during days of tool-use and no use

Question 25

What are 3 types of social learning?

Answer 25

1) Teaching
2) Observational learning
3) Social culture

Question 26

What is teaching?

Answer 26

Active involvement of experienced individuals in facilitating naive conspecifics

Question 27

What is the criteria for teaching?

Answer 27

If A is teaching B, then:
1) A modifies its behaviour only in the presence of B
2) A incurs some cost or at least does not obtain immediate benefits
3) B acquires knowledge of the skill earlier than it would otherwise do, or that it would not learn at all

Question 28

Which mammalian species have been shown to have teaching?

Answer 28

Meerkats

Question 29

How do meerkats teach their young?

Answer 29

1) Parents/helpers provision offspring with scorpions
2) 30 days after birth: meerkat is given dead scorpion
3) After 60 days: meerkat is given a live scorpion with its stinger detached
4) After 90 days: meerkat is given a live scorpion to kill

Question 30

What is observational learning?

Answer 30

Learning to perform actions/behaviours by watching others (imitation)

Question 31

What is an example of observational learning in chimpanzees?

Answer 31

Daughters mimic the termite fishing technique of their mother, whereas sons do not

Question 32

What is social facilitation?

Answer 32

Activity of others that indirectly increases the chances individuals will learn behaviours (e.g., stimulus enhancement - conditions are created to discover how to do certain tasks independently)

Question 33

Who conducted experiments to distinguish observational learning from social facilitation in chimpanzees?

Answer 33

Whiten, Horner, and Frans de Waal

Question 34

What was the experimental set up for Whiten, Horner, and Frans de Waal’s study on chimpanzee behaviour?

Answer 34

1) A puzzle was set up to obtain food which had 2 solutions (lift or poke)
2) 1 individual from each group (2) was taught one of the methods for obtaining food, then reintroduced into their respective groups

Question 35

What were the results of Whiten, Horner, and Frans de Waal’s study on chimpanzee behaviour?

Answer 35

1) Most individuals adapted the new technique under the influence of the “local expert” that was taught the solution
2) Subsets of chimpanzees that discovered the alternative method nevertheless went on to match the predominant approach of their companions
3) Showed that chimpanzees were capable of observational learning, and had a conformity bias

Question 36

What is working memory?

Answer 36

Brain’s ability to temporarily store and use information

Question 37

What did brain evolution in humans select for?

Answer 37

Efficiently storing cultural information for faithful transmission > working memory

Question 38

What is the same and different among primates and humans?

Answer 38

1) Both have culture: tools, social signals
2) Humans have rules and norms