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Ibbotson P, Browne WJ. The effects of family, culture and sex on linguistic development across 20 languages. Dev Sci 2024:e13547. [PMID: 38993142 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Languages vary in their complexity; caregivers vary in the way they structure their communicative interactions with children; and boys and girls can differ in their language skills. Using a multilevel modelling approach, we explored how these factors influence the path of language acquisition for young children growing up around the world (mean age 2-years 9-months; 56 girls). Across 43 different sites, we analysed 103 mother-child pairs who spoke 3,170,633 utterances, 16,209,659 morphemes, divided across 20 different languages: Afrikaans, Catalan, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. Using mean length of utterance (MLU) as a measure of language complexity and developmental skill, we found that variation in children's MLU was significantly explained by (a) between-language differences; namely the rate of child MLU growth was attuned to the complexity of their mother tongue, and (b) between-mother differences; namely mothers who used higher MLUs tended to have children with higher MLUs, regardless of which language they were learning and especially in the very young (<2.5 years-old). Controlling for family and language environment, we found no evidence of MLU sex differences in child speech nor in the speech addressed to boys and girls. By modelling language as a multilevel structure with cross-cultural variation, we were able to disentangle those factors that make children's pathway to language different and those that make it alike. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The speech of 103 mother-child pairs from 20 different languages showed large variation in the path of early language development. Language, family, but not the sex of the child, accounted for a significant proportion of individual differences in child speech, especially in the very young. The rate at which children learned language was attuned to the complexity of their mother tongue, with steeper trajectories for more complex language. Results demonstrate the relative influence of culture, family, and sex in shaping the path of language acquisition for different children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Ibbotson
- School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - William J Browne
- Centre for Multilevel Modelling, School of Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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2
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Chen AM, Palacci A, Vélez N, Hawkins RD, Gershman SJ. A Hierarchical Bayesian Model of Adaptive Teaching. Cogn Sci 2024; 48:e13477. [PMID: 38980989 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
How do teachers learn about what learners already know? How do learners aid teachers by providing them with information about their background knowledge and what they find confusing? We formalize this collaborative reasoning process using a hierarchical Bayesian model of pedagogy. We then evaluate this model in two online behavioral experiments (N = 312 adults). In Experiment 1, we show that teachers select examples that account for learners' background knowledge, and adjust their examples based on learners' feedback. In Experiment 2, we show that learners strategically provide more feedback when teachers' examples deviate from their background knowledge. These findings provide a foundation for extending computational accounts of pedagogy to richer interactive settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia M Chen
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| | | | | | | | - Samuel J Gershman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University
- Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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3
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Jahan N, Hoque S, Hossain MA, Hoon JS, Pipul MMUA. SNS citizenship behavior based on D&M information system success model and social capital theory: Mediating role of subjective well-being. Heliyon 2024; 10:e29982. [PMID: 38694120 PMCID: PMC11061670 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Social media has become integral to contemporary society, with online behaviors impacting individual experiences and the wider community. In Bangladesh, a developing country, SNS have played a pivotal role in the nation's digitalization efforts. This study explores the relationship between social capital theory, D&M Information System Model, subjective well-being, and SNS Citizenship Behavior (SCB) among active social media users in Bangladesh. Data was collected from 418 participants through an online survey, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that the items of the D&M model positively influenced the aspects of social capital theory, excluding service quality. In contrast, social interaction ties and shared values were positively associated with SCB, although social trust did not exhibit a significant relationship. Additionally, subjective well-being mediated the connection between social capital and SCB. This research offers valuable insights into the factors influencing online prosocial behavior and provides practical implications for cultivating a positive communication culture in the digital era. The model proposed in this study holds significant implications for Bangladesh's policymakers and social networking site authorities, guiding their efforts in implementing technology-based initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nusrat Jahan
- Department of Management Studies, Rabindra University Bangladesh, Shahzadpur, 6770, Sirajgonj, Bangladesh
| | - Saiful Hoque
- Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1100, Bangladesh
| | - Md Alamgir Hossain
- Department of Management, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, 5200, Bangladesh
| | - Jeong Se Hoon
- School of Media and Communication, Korea University, South Korea
| | - Md Muslim Uddin Ahmed Pipul
- Adjunct Faculty, Department of Journalism and Communication, Green University of Bangladesh, Narayanganj, 1461, Bangladesh
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4
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Weisman K, Ghossainy ME, Williams AJ, Payir A, Lesage KA, Reyes-Jaquez B, Amin TG, Anggoro FK, Burdett ERR, Chen EE, Coetzee L, Coley JD, Dahl A, Dautel JB, Davis HE, Davis EL, Diesendruck G, Evans D, Feeney A, Gurven M, Jee BD, Kramer HJ, Kushnir T, Kyriakopoulou N, McAuliffe K, McLaughlin A, Nichols S, Nicolopoulou A, Rockers PC, Shneidman L, Skopeliti I, Srinivasan M, Tarullo AR, Taylor LK, Yu Y, Yucel M, Zhao X, Corriveau KH, Richert RA. The development and diversity of religious cognition and behavior: Protocol for Wave 1 data collection with children and parents by the Developing Belief Network. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0292755. [PMID: 38457421 PMCID: PMC10923471 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The Developing Belief Network is a consortium of researchers studying human development in diverse social-cultural settings, with a focus on the interplay between general cognitive development and culturally specific processes of socialization and cultural transmission in early and middle childhood. The current manuscript describes the study protocol for the network's first wave of data collection, which aims to explore the development and diversity of religious cognition and behavior. This work is guided by three key research questions: (1) How do children represent and reason about religious and supernatural agents? (2) How do children represent and reason about religion as an aspect of social identity? (3) How are religious and supernatural beliefs transmitted within and between generations? The protocol is designed to address these questions via a set of nine tasks for children between the ages of 4 and 10 years, a comprehensive survey completed by their parents/caregivers, and a task designed to elicit conversations between children and caregivers. This study is being conducted in 39 distinct cultural-religious groups (to date), spanning 17 countries and 13 languages. In this manuscript, we provide detailed descriptions of all elements of this study protocol, give a brief overview of the ways in which this protocol has been adapted for use in diverse religious communities, and present the final, English-language study materials for 6 of the 39 cultural-religious groups who are currently being recruited for this study: Protestant Americans, Catholic Americans, American members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, and religiously unaffiliated Americans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara Weisman
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Maliki E. Ghossainy
- Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Allison J. Williams
- Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Ayse Payir
- Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kirsten A. Lesage
- Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Bolivar Reyes-Jaquez
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Tamer G. Amin
- Department of Education, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Florencia K. Anggoro
- Department of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | | | - Eva E. Chen
- College of Education, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.
| | - Lezanie Coetzee
- Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE2RO), T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - John D. Coley
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Audun Dahl
- Department of Psychology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America
| | - Jocelyn B. Dautel
- School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Elizabeth Davis
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change and the Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth L. Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Gil Diesendruck
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Denise Evans
- Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE2RO), T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Aidan Feeney
- School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Benjamin D. Jee
- Department of Psychology, Worcester State University, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Hannah J. Kramer
- School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Tamar Kushnir
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Natassa Kyriakopoulou
- Department of Early Childhood Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Katherine McAuliffe
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Abby McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Shaun Nichols
- Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Ageliki Nicolopoulou
- Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Peter C. Rockers
- Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Laura Shneidman
- Department of Psychology, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, United States of America
| | - Irini Skopeliti
- Department of Educational Science and Early Childhood Education, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Mahesh Srinivasan
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Amanda R. Tarullo
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Laura K. Taylor
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Yue Yu
- Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Meltem Yucel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Xin Zhao
- Department of Educational Psychology, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kathleen H. Corriveau
- Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Rebekah A. Richert
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
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5
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Frith U, Frith C. What makes us social and what does it tell us about mental disorders? Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2024; 29:1-9. [PMID: 38281115 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2024.2307958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Uta Frith
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Chris Frith
- Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
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6
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Charbonneau M, Curioni A, McEllin L, Strachan JWA. Flexible Cultural Learning Through Action Coordination. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2024; 19:201-222. [PMID: 37458767 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231182923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
The cultural transmission of technical know-how has proven vital to the success of our species. The broad diversity of learning contexts and social configurations, as well as the various kinds of coordinated interactions they involve, speaks to our capacity to flexibly adapt to and succeed in transmitting vital knowledge in various learning contexts. Although often recognized by ethnographers, the flexibility of cultural learning has so far received little attention in terms of cognitive mechanisms. We argue that a key feature of the flexibility of cultural learning is that both the models and learners recruit cognitive mechanisms of action coordination to modulate their behavior contingently on the behavior of their partner, generating a process of mutual adaptation supporting the successful transmission of technical skills in diverse and fluctuating learning environments. We propose that the study of cultural learning would benefit from the experimental methods, results, and insights of joint-action research and, complementarily, that the field of joint-action research could expand its scope by integrating a learning and cultural dimension. Bringing these two fields of research together promises to enrich our understanding of cultural learning, its contextual flexibility, and joint action coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Charbonneau
- Africa Institute for Research in Economics and Social Sciences, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique
| | | | - Luke McEllin
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University
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7
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Brandl E, Emmott EH, Mace R. Development of teaching in ni-Vanuatu children. Child Dev 2023; 94:1713-1729. [PMID: 37315123 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Teaching is an important mechanism of social learning. In industrialized societies, 3-year-olds tend to teach through demonstrations and short commands, while 5-year-olds use more verbal communication and abstract explanations. However, it remains unclear whether this generalizes to other cultures. This study presents results from a peer teaching game with 55 Melanesian children (4.7-11.4 years, 24 female) conducted in Vanuatu in 2019. Up to age 8, most participants taught through a participatory approach, emphasizing learning-by-doing, demonstrations, and short commands (57.1% of children aged 4-6 and 57.9% of children aged 7-8). Contrary to Western findings, abstract verbal communication only became common in children aged 9-11 (63.6%), suggesting that the ontogeny of teaching is shaped by the socio-cultural environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Brandl
- Lise Meitner Research Group BirthRites, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emily H Emmott
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
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8
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Bridgers S, De Simone C, Gweon H, Ruggeri A. Children seek help based on how others learn. Child Dev 2023; 94:1259-1280. [PMID: 37185813 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Do children consider how others learned when seeking help? Across three experiments, German children (N = 536 3-to-8 year olds, 49% female, majority White, tested 2017-2019) preferred to learn from successful active learners selectively by context: They sought help solving a problem from a learner who had independently discovered the solution to a previous problem over those who had learned through instruction or observation, but only when the current problem was novel, yet related, to the learners' problem (Experiment 1). Older, but not younger, children preferred the active learner even when she was offered help (Experiment 2), though only when her discovery was deliberate (Experiment 3). Although a preference to learn from successful active learners emerges early, a genuine appreciation for process beyond outcome increases across childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Bridgers
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Costanza De Simone
- Max Planck Research Group iSearch, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hyowon Gweon
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Azzurra Ruggeri
- Max Planck Research Group iSearch, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
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9
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Barraza P, Rodríguez E. Executive Functions and Theory of Mind in Teachers and Non-Teachers. Heliyon 2023; 9:e19915. [PMID: 37809925 PMCID: PMC10559320 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Human teaching is a key behavior for the socialization of cultural knowledge. Previous studies suggest that human teaching behavior would support the development of executive and ToM skills, which in turn would refine the teaching behavior. Given this connection, it raises the question of whether subjects with professional training in teaching also have more efficient executive and ToM systems. To shed light on this issue, in the present study we compared the performance of professional teachers (N = 20, age range = 35-61 years) with a matched control group of non-teachers (N = 20, age range: 29-64 years) on tasks measuring working memory (Sternberg Task), cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test), executive control (Attention Network Test), along with online ToM skills (Frith-Happé Animations Task), emotion recognition (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test) and first-order and second-order ToM (Yoni Task). We found that teachers were significantly more accurate on tasks involving cognitive flexibility (p = .014) and working memory (p = .040), and more efficient on tasks requiring executive control of attention (p = .046), compared to non-teachers. In ToM tasks, differences in accuracy between teachers and non-teachers were not found. But, teachers were slower to respond than non-teachers (about 2 s difference) on tasks involving emotion recognition (p = .0007) and the use of second-order affective ToM (p = .006). Collectively, our findings raise an interesting link between professional teaching and the development of cognitive skills critical for decision-making in challenging social contexts such as the classroom. Future research could explore ways to foster teachers' strengths in cognitive flexibility, working memory, and executive control of attention to enhance teaching strategies and student learning outcomes. Additionally, exploring factors behind slower response times in affective ToM tasks can guide teacher-training programs focused on interpersonal skills and improve teacher-student interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo Barraza
- Center for Advanced Research in Education (CIAE), University of Chile, 8330014, Santiago, Chile
- Institute for Advanced Studies in Education (IE), University of Chile, 8330014, Santiago, Chile
| | - Eugenio Rodríguez
- School of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, 7820436, Santiago, Chile
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10
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Stengelin R, Haun DBM, Kanngiesser P. Simulating peers: Can puppets simulate peer interactions in studies on children's socio-cognitive development? Child Dev 2023; 94:1117-1135. [PMID: 36779431 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
Abstract
Interactions with peers are fundamental to socio-cognitive development, but assessing peer interactions in standardized experiments is challenging. Therefore, researchers commonly utilize puppetry to simulate peers. This Registered Report investigated urban German children's (AgeRange = 3.5-4.5 years; N = 144; 76♀) mind ascriptions and social cognition to test whether they treat puppets like peers, adults, or neither. Children attributed less mind properties to puppets than peers or adults. However, children's social cognition (i.e., normativity, prosociality, and theory of mind) varied little across partners. Puppetry relies on children's ability for pretense, but can provide valid insights into socio-cognitive development. Implications for using puppets as stand-ins for peers in developmental research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Stengelin
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Psychology and Social Work, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Daniel B M Haun
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
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11
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Brandl E, Mace R, Heyes C. The cultural evolution of teaching. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2023; 5:e14. [PMID: 37587942 PMCID: PMC10426124 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2023.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Teaching is an important process of cultural transmission. Some have argued that human teaching is a cognitive instinct - a form of 'natural cognition' centred on mindreading, shaped by genetic evolution for the education of juveniles, and with a normative developmental trajectory driven by the unfolding of a genetically inherited predisposition to teach. Here, we argue instead that human teaching is a culturally evolved trait that exhibits characteristics of a cognitive gadget. Children learn to teach by participating in teaching interactions with socialising agents, which shape their own teaching practices. This process hijacks psychological mechanisms involved in prosociality and a range of domain-general cognitive abilities, such as reinforcement learning and executive function, but not a suite of cognitive adaptations specifically for teaching. Four lines of evidence converge on this hypothesis. The first, based on psychological experiments in industrialised societies, indicates that domain-general cognitive processes are important for teaching. The second and third lines, based on naturalistic and experimental research in small-scale societies, indicate marked cross-cultural variation in mature teaching practice and in the ontogeny of teaching among children. The fourth line indicates that teaching has been subject to cumulative cultural evolution, i.e. the gradual accumulation of functional changes across generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Brandl
- Lise Meitner Research Group BirthRites, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Cecilia Heyes
- All Souls College and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 4AL, UK
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12
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Olsen K, Selbing I. Social learning and the adaptiveness of expressing and perceiving fearfulness. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e74. [PMID: 37154360 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22001820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The fearful ape hypothesis revolves around our ability to express and perceive fearfulness. Here, we address these abilities from a social learning perspective which casts fearfulness in a slightly different light. Our commentary argues that any theory that characterizes a (human) social signal as being adaptive, needs to address the role of social learning as an alternative candidate explanation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karsten Olsen
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
| | - Ida Selbing
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 65Solna, Sweden ; www.emotionlab.se
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13
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Teaching strategies are shaped by experience with formal education: Experimental evidence from caregiver-child dyads in two Tannese communities. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:792-806. [PMID: 35913535 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01340-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Humans are extraordinary in the extent to which we rely on cumulative culture to act upon and make sense of our environment. Teaching is one social learning process thought to be fundamental to the evolution of cumulative culture as a means of adaptation in our species. However, the frequency of teaching and how we teach are known to vary across human sociocultural contexts. Understanding this variation adds to our understanding of the complex interplay between cognition and culture in shaping learning behavior but also contributes to theory around the costs and benefits of different social learning processes. Here, we examined how prior experience with formal education is related to the frequency and diversity of teaching behaviors in an experimental paradigm where caregivers were motivated (but not instructed) to teach a simple skill to a child (7-10 years old). We identified and coded a suite of subtle nonverbal behaviors that could be construed as facilitating learning. Dyads (n = 64) were recruited from two communities on Tanna Island that differ in their experience with formal schooling and their acceptance of Western institutions. We found evidence for parallel teaching strategies in both communities. However, the rate and diversity of teaching behaviors were positively associated with caregiver's experience with formal schooling and independently and negatively associated with being from a village that rejects Western-derived institutions. These results further our understanding of how multiple cultural processes influence social learning and highlights the powerful influence of formal schooling on the cultural evolution of teaching in humans.
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14
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Memory Monitoring and Control in Japanese and German Preschoolers. Mem Cognit 2023; 51:708-717. [PMID: 34919202 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-021-01263-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies explored the early development of memory monitoring and control. However, little work has examined cross-cultural similarities and differences in metacognitive development in early childhood. In the present research, we investigated a total of 100 Japanese and German preschool-aged children's memory monitoring and control in a visual perception task. After seeing picture items, some of which were repeated, children were presented with picture pairs, one of which had been presented earlier and the other was a novel item. They then were asked to identify the previously presented picture. Children were also asked to evaluate their confidence about their selection, and to sort the responses to be used for being awarded with a prize at the end of the test. Both groups similarly expressed more confidence in the accurately remembered items than in the inaccurately remembered items, and their sorting decision was based on their subjective confidence. Japanese children's sorting more closely corresponded to memory accuracy than German children's sorting, however. These findings were further confirmed by a hierarchical Bayesian estimation of metacognitive efficiency. The present findings therefore suggest that early memory monitoring and control have both culturally similar and diverse aspects. The findings are discussed in light of broader sociocultural influences on metacognition.
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Galesic M, Barkoczi D, Berdahl AM, Biro D, Carbone G, Giannoccaro I, Goldstone RL, Gonzalez C, Kandler A, Kao AB, Kendal R, Kline M, Lee E, Massari GF, Mesoudi A, Olsson H, Pescetelli N, Sloman SJ, Smaldino PE, Stein DL. Beyond collective intelligence: Collective adaptation. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20220736. [PMID: 36946092 PMCID: PMC10031425 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
We develop a conceptual framework for studying collective adaptation in complex socio-cognitive systems, driven by dynamic interactions of social integration strategies, social environments and problem structures. Going beyond searching for 'intelligent' collectives, we integrate research from different disciplines and outline modelling approaches that can be used to begin answering questions such as why collectives sometimes fail to reach seemingly obvious solutions, how they change their strategies and network structures in response to different problems and how we can anticipate and perhaps change future harmful societal trajectories. We discuss the importance of considering path dependence, lack of optimization and collective myopia to understand the sometimes counterintuitive outcomes of collective adaptation. We call for a transdisciplinary, quantitative and societally useful social science that can help us to understand our rapidly changing and ever more complex societies, avoid collective disasters and reach the full potential of our ability to organize in adaptive collectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirta Galesic
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Complexity Science Hub Vienna, 1080 Vienna, Austria
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, VM 05405, USA
| | | | - Andrew M. Berdahl
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Dora Biro
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Giuseppe Carbone
- Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Bari 70125, Italy
| | - Ilaria Giannoccaro
- Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Bari 70125, Italy
| | - Robert L. Goldstone
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Cleotilde Gonzalez
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Anne Kandler
- Department of Mathematics, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Albert B. Kao
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Rachel Kendal
- Centre for Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Anthropology Department, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Michelle Kline
- Centre for Culture and Evolution, Division of Psychology, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK
| | - Eun Lee
- Department of Scientific Computing, Pukyong National University, 45 Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Alex Mesoudi
- Department of Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | | | | | - Sabina J. Sloman
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Paul E. Smaldino
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Daniel L. Stein
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Physics and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA
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Weisberg DS, Dunlap LC, Sobel DM. Dinos and GoPros: Children's exploratory behaviors in a museum and their reflections on their learning. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1110612. [PMID: 36860778 PMCID: PMC9968754 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1110612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Research in both laboratory and museum settings suggests that children's exploration and caregiver-child interaction relate to children's learning and engagement. Most of this work, however, takes a third-person perspective on children's exploration of a single activity or exhibit, and does not consider children's perspectives on their own exploration. In contrast, the current study recruited 6-to 10-year-olds (N = 52) to wear GoPro cameras, which recorded their first-person perspectives as they explored a dinosaur exhibition in a natural history museum. During a 10-min period, children were allowed to interact with 34 different exhibits, their caregivers and families, and museum staff however they wished. Following their exploration, children were asked to reflect on their exploration while watching the video they created and to report on whether they had learned anything. Children were rated as more engaged when they explored collaboratively with their caregivers. Children were more likely to report that they learned something when they were more engaged, and when they spent more time at exhibits that presented information didactically rather than being interactive. These results suggest that static exhibits have an important role to play in fostering learning experiences in museums, potentially because such exhibits allow for more caregiver-child interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deena Skolnick Weisberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, United States,*Correspondence: Deena Skolnick Weisberg,
| | - Lucretia C. Dunlap
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, United States
| | - David M. Sobel
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
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Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Valchy M, Gettler LT. Associations between men's reputations for fathering and their reproductive success among BaYaka foragers in the Congo Basin. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
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18
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Muijsenberg AJL, Houben-Wilke S, Zeng Y, Spruit MA, Janssen DJA. Methods to assess adults' learning styles and factors affecting learning in health education: A scoping review. PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING 2023; 107:107588. [PMID: 36502561 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.107588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To develop learner-centered education, knowledge about learning styles and factors that affect the ability to learn in patients and their significant others are essential. The present scoping review aims to identify current evidence on 1) how learning styles are assessed within health education, for adult patients as well as their significant others and 2) factors affecting learning in adult patients and their significant others who receive health education. METHODS Systematic literature searches were performed in ERIC, PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO. INCLUSION CRITERIA 1) participants ≥ 18 years; 2) participants were patients or significant others; 3) assessment of learning style and/or factors affecting learning; and 4) health education as context. RESULTS 45 articles were included. Learning style within health education can be assessed with multiple choice questions, qualitative methods and a validated questionnaire. Health literacy was the most reported factor affecting learning, followed by anxiety and illness condition. CONCLUSIONS Prior to the development of learner-centered education for patients and significant others, learning styles as well as factors affecting learning should be assessed in both patients and significant others. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS The process of learning is complex, and it is a shared responsibility of both the learner and the educator.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yuqin Zeng
- Department of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands
| | - Martijn A Spruit
- Department of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Centre, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Daisy J A Janssen
- Department of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands; Department of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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19
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Sehner S, Burkart JM. Cumulative Culture. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ENTWICKLUNGSPSYCHOLOGIE UND PADAGOGISCHE PSYCHOLOGIE 2023. [DOI: 10.1026/0049-8637/a000268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Abstract: Although the spread of innovations through social learning is well documented in animals, resulting animal cultures have remained simple without an increase in complexity over time. Human culture, in contrast, evolves constantly and is unparalleled in terms of complexity and diversity. Why only human culture is cumulative is the subject of ongoing debates, but the most prevalent suggestions are that animals lack high-fidelity transmission and complex innovations. This article examines how the combination of two factors may have helped humans overcome these limitations: first, our having a big brain, inherited from our great-ape-like ancestors; second, our reliance on extensive allomaternal care that evolved convergently with other cooperatively breeding species. We provide support for this suggestion with recent evidence from cooperatively breeding common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus), showing that motivation for cooperation can trump intelligence when it comes to solving problems and information transmission to the next generation.
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Porter K, Miles PJ, Donaldson DI. Teachers’ emotions in the time of COVID: Thematic analysis of interview data reveals drivers of professional agency. Front Psychol 2022; 13:987690. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.987690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
PurposeWe explored two complex phenomena associated with effective education. First, teachers’ professional agency, the volitional actions they take in response to perceived opportunities, was examined to consider individual differences in its enactment. Second, “strong” emotions have been proposed as important in teaching and learning, and we wished to clarify which basic emotions might be involved, besides curiosity, which is a known emotional factor in engagement in teaching. We also explored how agency and basic emotions might be related.ApproachThirteen teachers working in Scottish secondary schools were interviewed at the start of the covid pandemic in 2020 to discuss relevant feelings, thoughts and actions arising from unprecedented changes in their lives and professional practices. Thematic analysis was used to identify aspects of agentic behavior and basic emotions expressed.FindingsTeacher agency was expressed through adaptability, collective agency, constrained agency, and non-action. Four basic emotion percepts were identified, which we label as “CARE”, “CURIOSITY”, “COOPERATION”, and “CHALLENGE”.OriginalityWe extend the definition of agency to include volitional non-action as a response to opportunity. In contrast to prior research emphasizing emotions as an outcome of volitional behavior, we explore emotions preceding agency. We develop four theoretical propositions related to teacher emotions. (1) Four emotion percepts substantially influence teachers’ voluntary motivated behavior. (2) The amount and proportion of emotions experienced varies between individual teachers. (3) The four percepts are experienced concurrently or in rapid succession in engaged teaching contexts. (4) Professional experience and specific situational factors also influence teachers’ behavioral choices. For future consideration, we suggest that awareness of emotion percepts may encourage both teachers’ engagement and their professional agency for the benefit of their pedagogical practice and outcomes for their students.
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21
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Liu C, Stout D. Inferring cultural reproduction from lithic data: A critical review. Evol Anthropol 2022; 32:83-99. [PMID: 36245296 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The cultural reproduction of lithic technology, long an implicit assumption of archaeological theories, has garnered increasing attention over the past decades. Major debates ranging from the origins of the human culture capacity to the interpretation of spatiotemporal patterning now make explicit reference to social learning mechanisms and cultural evolutionary dynamics. This burgeoning literature has produced important insights and methodological innovations. However, this rapid growth has sometimes led to confusion and controversy due to an under-examination of underlying theoretical and methodological assumptions. The time is thus ripe for a critical assessment of progress in the study of the cultural reproduction of lithic technology. Here we review recent work addressing the evolutionary origins of human culture and the meaning of artifact variation at both intrasite and intersite levels. We propose that further progress will require a more extended and context-specific evolutionary approach to address the complexity of real-world cultural reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Liu
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Dietrich Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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22
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Chevalère J, Kirtay M, Hafner VV, Lazarides R. Who to Observe and Imitate in Humans and Robots: The Importance of Motivational Factors. Int J Soc Robot 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12369-022-00923-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AbstractImitation is a vital skill that humans leverage in various situations. Humans achieve imitation by observing others with apparent ease. Yet, in reality, it is computationally expensive to model on artificial agents (e.g., social robots) to acquire new skills by imitating an expert agent. Although learning through imitation has been extensively addressed in the robotic literature, most studies focus on answering the following questions: what to imitate and how to imitate. In this conceptual paper, we focus on one of the overlooked questions of imitation through observation: who to imitate. We present possible answers to the who-to-imitate question by exploring motivational factors documented in psychological research and their possible implementation in robotics. To this end, we focus on two critical instances of the who-to-imitate question that guide agents to prioritize one demonstrator over another: outcome expectancies, viewed as the anticipated learning gains, and efficacy expectations, viewed as the anticipated costs of performing actions, respectively.
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23
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Sehner S, Willems EP, Vinicus L, Migliano AB, van Schaik CP, Burkart JM. Problem-solving in groups of common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus): more than the sum of its parts. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac168. [PMID: 36714869 PMCID: PMC9802434 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Human hypercooperativity and the emergence of division of labor enables us to solve problems not only effectively within a group but also collectively. Collective problem-solving occurs when groups perform better than the additive performance of separate individuals. Currently, it is unknown whether this is unique to humans. To investigate the evolutionary origin of collective problem-solving and potential precursors, we propose a continuum of group effects on problem-solving, from simple to complex ones, eventually culminating in collective problem-solving. We tested captive common marmosets with a series of problem-solving tasks, either alone or in a group. To test whether the performance of a group was more than the sum of its parts, we compared real groups to virtual groups (pooled scores of animals tested alone). Marmosets in real groups were both more likely to solve problems than marmosets within the virtual groups and to do so faster. Although individuals within real groups approached the problem faster, a reduction in neophobia was not sufficient to explain the greater success. Success within real groups arose because animals showed higher perseverance, especially after a fellow group member had found the solution in complex tasks. These results are consistent with the idea that group problem-solving evolved alongside a continuum, with performance improving beyond baseline as societies move from social tolerance to opportunities for diffusion of information to active exchange of information. We suggest that increasing interdependence and the adoption of cooperative breeding pushed our ancestors up this scale.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Erik P Willems
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lucio Vinicus
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea B Migliano
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Judith M Burkart
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (ISLE), University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland
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24
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Cultural transmission vectors of essential knowledge and skills among Tsimane forager-farmers. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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25
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Köster M, Torréns MG, Kärtner J, Itakura S, Cavalcante L, Kanngiesser P. Parental teaching behavior in diverse cultural contexts. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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26
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One century after Liepmann’s work on apraxia: Where do we go now? Cortex 2022; 154:333-339. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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27
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Lew-Levy S, Bombjaková D, Milks A, Kiabiya Ntamboudila F, Kline MA, Broesch T. Costly teaching contributes to the acquisition of spear hunting skill among BaYaka forager adolescents. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220164. [PMID: 35538787 PMCID: PMC9091853 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Teaching likely evolved in humans to facilitate the faithful transmission of complex tasks. As the oldest evidenced hunting technology, spear hunting requires acquiring several complex physical and cognitive competencies. In this study, we used observational and interview data collected among BaYaka foragers (Republic of the Congo) to test the predictions that costlier teaching types would be observed at a greater frequency than less costly teaching in the domain of spear hunting and that teachers would calibrate their teaching to pupil skill level. To observe naturalistic teaching during spear hunting, we invited teacher-pupil groupings to spear hunt while wearing GoPro cameras. We analysed 68 h of footage totalling 519 teaching episodes. Most observed teaching events were costly. Direct instruction was the most frequently observed teaching type. Older pupils received less teaching and more opportunities to lead the spear hunt than their younger counterparts. Teachers did not appear to adjust their teaching to pupil experience, potentially because age was a more easily accessible heuristic for pupil skill than experience. Our study shows that costly teaching is frequently used to transmit complex tasks and that instruction may play a privileged role in the transmission of spear hunting knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daša Bombjaková
- Institute of Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Annemieke Milks
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Francy Kiabiya Ntamboudila
- Faculté des Lettres, Arts, et Sciences Humaines, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - Michelle Anne Kline
- Division of Psychology and Centre for Culture and Evolution, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK
| | - Tanya Broesch
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
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28
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Frankenhuis WE, Amir D. What is the expected human childhood? Insights from evolutionary anthropology. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:473-497. [PMID: 34924077 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In psychological research, there are often assumptions about the conditions that children expect to encounter during their development. These assumptions shape prevailing ideas about the experiences that children are capable of adjusting to, and whether their responses are viewed as impairments or adaptations. Specifically, the expected childhood is often depicted as nurturing and safe, and characterized by high levels of caregiver investment. Here, we synthesize evidence from history, anthropology, and primatology to challenge this view. We integrate the findings of systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and cross-cultural investigations on three forms of threat (infanticide, violent conflict, and predation) and three forms of deprivation (social, cognitive, and nutritional) that children have faced throughout human evolution. Our results show that mean levels of threat and deprivation were higher than is typical in industrialized societies, and that our species has experienced much variation in the levels of these adversities across space and time. These conditions likely favored a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, or the ability to tailor development to different conditions. This body of evidence has implications for recognizing developmental adaptations to adversity, for cultural variation in responses to adverse experiences, and for definitions of adversity and deprivation as deviation from the expected human childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem E Frankenhuis
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Germany
| | - Dorsa Amir
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, USA
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29
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Osiurak F, Reynaud E, Baumard J, Rossetti Y, Bartolo A, Lesourd M. Pantomime of tool use: looking beyond apraxia. Brain Commun 2022; 3:fcab263. [PMID: 35350708 PMCID: PMC8936430 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Pantomime has a long tradition in clinical neuropsychology of apraxia. It has been much more used by researchers and clinicians to assess tool-use disorders than real tool use. Nevertheless, it remains incompletely understood and has given rise to controversies, such as the involvement of the left inferior parietal lobe or the nature of the underlying cognitive processes. The present article offers a comprehensive framework, with the aim of specifying the neural and cognitive bases of pantomime. To do so, we conducted a series of meta-analyses of brain-lesion, neuroimaging and behavioural studies about pantomime and other related tasks (i.e. real tool use, imitation of meaningless postures and semantic knowledge). The first key finding is that the area PF (Area PF complex) within the left inferior parietal lobe is crucially involved in both pantomime and real tool use as well as in the kinematics component of pantomime. The second key finding is the absence of a well-defined neural substrate for the posture component of pantomime (both grip errors and body-part-as-tool responses). The third key finding is the role played by the intraparietal sulcus in both pantomime and imitation of meaningless postures. The fourth key finding is that the left angular gyrus seems to be critical in the production of motor actions directed towards the body. The fifth key finding is that performance on pantomime is strongly correlated with the severity of semantic deficits. Taken together, these findings invite us to offer a neurocognitive model of pantomime, which provides an integrated alternative to the two hypotheses that dominate the field: The gesture-engram hypothesis and the communicative hypothesis. More specifically, this model assumes that technical reasoning (notably the left area PF), the motor-control system (notably the intraparietal sulcus), body structural description (notably the left angular gyrus), semantic knowledge (notably the polar temporal lobes) and potentially theory of mind (notably the middle prefrontal cortex) work in concert to produce pantomime. The original features of this model open new avenues for understanding the neurocognitive bases of pantomime, emphasizing that pantomime is a communicative task that nevertheless originates in specific tool-use (not motor-related) cognitive processes. <Please insert Graphical abstract here>
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Affiliation(s)
- François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA3082), Université Lyon 2, 69676 Bron, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, 75231 Paris, France
| | - Emanuelle Reynaud
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs (EA3082), Université Lyon 2, 69676 Bron, France
| | - Josselin Baumard
- Normandie University, UNIROUEN, CRFDP (EA7475), 76821 Mont Saint Aignan, France
| | - Yves Rossetti
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Trajectoires Team, CNRS U5292, Inserm U1028, Université de Lyon, 69676 Bron, France.,Mouvement, Handicap, et Neuro-Immersion, Hospices Civils de Lyon et Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Hôpital Henry Gabrielle, 69230 Saint-Genis-Laval, France
| | - Angela Bartolo
- Institut Universitaire de France, 75231 Paris, France.,Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR9193, SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, 59653 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France
| | - Mathieu Lesourd
- Laboratoire de Recherches Intégratives en Neurosciences et Psychologie Cognitive (UR481), Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 25030 Besançon, France.,MSHE Ledoux, CNRS, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 25000 Besançon, France
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30
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Richert RA, Weisman K, Lesage KA, Ghossainy ME, Reyes-Jaquez B, Corriveau KH. Belief, culture, & development: Insights from studying the development of religious beliefs and behaviors. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 62:127-158. [PMID: 35249680 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2021.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We describe the theoretical and methodological contributions of a cultural and developmental approach to the study of religious belief and behavior. We focus on how the study of religious development can provide a foothold into answering some key questions in developmental science: What is belief? What is culture? What is the nature of human development? Throughout the chapter, we provide examples of methodological innovations that have emerged over the course of the first year of a global, collaborative research project into the development of religious beliefs and behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekah A Richert
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States.
| | - Kara Weisman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Kirsten A Lesage
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Maliki E Ghossainy
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Bolivar Reyes-Jaquez
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Kathleen H Corriveau
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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32
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Zhang L, Xu X, Li Z, Chen L, Feng L. Interpersonal Neural Synchronization Predicting Learning Outcomes From Teaching-Learning Interaction: A Meta-Analysis. Front Psychol 2022; 13:835147. [PMID: 35295390 PMCID: PMC8918582 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.835147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In school education, teaching-learning interaction is deemed as a core process in the classroom. The fundamental neural basis underlying teaching-learning interaction is proposed to be essential for tuning learning outcomes. However, the neural basis of this process as well as the relationship between the neural dynamics and the learning outcomes are largely unclear. With non-invasive technologies such as fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy), hyperscanning techniques have been developed since the last decade and been applied to the field of educational neuroscience for simultaneous multi-brain scanning. Hyperscanning studies suggest that the interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) during teaching-learning interaction might be an ideal neural biomarker for predicting learning outcomes. To systematically evaluate such a relationship, this meta-analysis ran on a random-effects model on 16 studies with 23 independent samples (effect sizes). Further moderator analyses were also performed to examine the potential influences of the style, mode, content, and the assessment method of learning outcomes. The random-effects modeling results confirmed a robust positive correlation between INS and learning outcomes. Subsequent analyses revealed that such relationship was mainly affected by both interaction style and mode. Therefore, the present meta-analysis provided a confirmatory neurocognitive foundation for teaching-learning interaction, as well as its relation to the learning outcomes, consolidated future learning and teaching studies in various disciplines including second language education with a firm methodological reference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liaoyuan Zhang
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoxiong Xu
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongshan Li
- School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Luyao Chen
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Max Planck Partner Group, College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Luyao Chen,
| | - Liping Feng
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Liping Feng,
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Schimmelpfennig R, Razek L, Schnell E, Muthukrishna M. Paradox of diversity in the collective brain. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200316. [PMID: 34894736 PMCID: PMC8666911 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human societies are collective brains. People within every society have cultural brains-brains that have evolved to selectively seek out adaptive knowledge and socially transmit solutions. Innovations emerge at a population level through the transmission of serendipitous mistakes, incremental improvements and novel recombinations. The rate of innovation through these mechanisms is a function of (1) a society's size and interconnectedness (sociality), which affects the number of models available for learning; (2) fidelity of information transmission, which affects how much information is lost during social learning; and (3) cultural trait diversity, which affects the range of possible solutions available for recombination. In general, and perhaps surprisingly, all three levers can increase and harm innovation by creating challenges around coordination, conformity and communication. Here, we focus on the 'paradox of diversity'-that cultural trait diversity offers the largest potential for empowering innovation, but also poses difficult challenges at both an organizational and societal level. We introduce 'cultural evolvability' as a framework for tackling these challenges, with implications for entrepreneurship, polarization and a nuanced understanding of the effects of diversity. This framework can guide researchers and practitioners in how to reap the benefits of diversity by reducing costs. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Schimmelpfennig
- Department of Organizational Behavior, University of Lausanne (UNIL), Chavannes-près-Renens, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Layla Razek
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Dr Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Eric Schnell
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
| | - Michael Muthukrishna
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1M1
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O'Madagain C, Tomasello M. Shared intentionality, reason-giving and the evolution of human culture. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200320. [PMID: 34894741 PMCID: PMC8666906 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The biological approach to culture focuses almost exclusively on processes of social learning, to the neglect of processes of cultural coordination including joint action and shared intentionality. In this paper, we argue that the distinctive features of human culture derive from humans' unique skills and motivations for coordinating with one another around different types of action and information. As different levels of these skills of 'shared intentionality' emerged over the last several hundred thousand years, human culture became characterized first by such things as collaborative activities and pedagogy based on cooperative communication, and then by such things as collaborative innovations and normatively structured pedagogy. As a kind of capstone of this trajectory, humans began to coordinate not just on joint actions and shared beliefs, but on the reasons for what we believe or how we act. Coordinating on reasons powered the kinds of extremely rapid innovation and stable cumulative cultural evolution especially characteristic of the human species in the last several tens of thousands of years. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathal O'Madagain
- School of Collective Intelligence, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Ben Guerir, Morocco
- Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Tomasello
- Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Takeuchi N. Perspectives on Rehabilitation Using Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Based on Second-Person Neuroscience of Teaching-Learning Interactions. Front Psychol 2022; 12:789637. [PMID: 35069374 PMCID: PMC8769209 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.789637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in second-person neuroscience have allowed the underlying neural mechanisms involved in teaching-learning interactions to be better understood. Teaching is not merely a one-way transfer of information from teacher to student; it is a complex interaction that requires metacognitive and mentalizing skills to understand others’ intentions and integrate information regarding oneself and others. Physiotherapy involving therapists instructing patients on how to improve their motor skills is a clinical field in which teaching-learning interactions play a central role. Accumulating evidence suggests that non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) modulates cognitive functions; however, NIBS approaches to teaching-learning interactions are yet to be utilized in rehabilitation. In this review, I evaluate the present research into NIBS and its role in enhancing metacognitive and mentalizing abilities; I then review hyperscanning studies of teaching-learning interactions and explore the potential clinical applications of NIBS in rehabilitation. Dual-brain stimulation using NIBS has been developed based on findings of brain-to-brain synchrony in hyperscanning studies, and it is delivered simultaneously to two individuals to increase inter-brain synchronized oscillations at the stimulated frequency. Artificial induction of brain-to-brain synchrony has the potential to promote instruction-based learning. The brain-to-brain interface, which induces inter-brain synchronization by adjusting the patient’s brain activity, using NIBS, to the therapist’s brain activity, could have a positive effect on both therapist-patient interactions and rehabilitation outcomes. NIBS based on second-person neuroscience has the potential to serve as a useful addition to the current neuroscientific methods used in complementary interventions for rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoyuki Takeuchi
- Department of Physical Therapy, Akita University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Akita, Japan
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Ventura R, Akcay E. A cognitive-evolutionary model for the evolution of teaching. J Theor Biol 2022; 533:110933. [PMID: 34655616 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2021.110933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Mechanisms for social learning have rightly been the focus of much work in cultural evolution. But mechanisms for teaching-mechanisms that determine what information is available for learners to learn in the first place-are equally important to cultural evolution, especially in the case of humans. Here, we propose a simple model of teaching in the context of skill transmission. Our model derives the evolutionary cost and benefit of teaching by explicitly representing cognitive aspects of skill transmission as a dual-inheritance process. We then show that teaching cannot evolve when its direct cost is too high. We also show that there is an "explain-exploit" trade-off inherent to teaching: when payoffs from sharing information are not constant, there can be an indirect cost to teaching. This gives rise to an opportunity cost that goes beyond any direct cost that it may also entail. Finally, we show that evolution limits the strength of teaching provided that the direct cost of teaching is an increasing function of teaching effort. We then discuss how these factors might explain why teaching mechanisms are self-limiting, suggesting that such mechanisms may nevertheless play an important role in the evolution of cumulative culture in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Ventura
- Department of Biology, Department of Linguistics, MindCORE University of Pennsylvania, United States.
| | - Erol Akcay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, United States
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Bass I, Bonawitz E, Hawthorne-Madell D, Vong WK, Goodman ND, Gweon H. The effects of information utility and teachers' knowledge on evaluations of under-informative pedagogy across development. Cognition 2022; 222:104999. [PMID: 35032868 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Teaching is a powerful way to transmit knowledge, but with this power comes a hazard: When teachers fail to select the best set of evidence for the learner, learners can be misled to draw inaccurate inferences. Evaluating others' failures as teachers, however, is a nontrivial problem; people may fail to be informative for different reasons, and not all failures are equally blameworthy. How do learners evaluate the quality of teachers, and what factors influence such evaluations? Here, we present a Bayesian model of teacher evaluation that considers the utility of a teacher's pedagogical sampling given their prior knowledge. In Experiment 1 (N=1168), we test the model predictions against adults' evaluations of a teacher who demonstrated all or a subset of the functions on a novel device. Consistent with the model predictions, participants' ratings integrated information about the number of functions taught, their values, as well as how much the teacher knew. Using a modified paradigm for children, Experiments 2 (N=48) and 3 (N=40) found that preschool-aged children (2a, 3) and adults (2b) make nuanced judgments of teacher quality that are well predicted by the model. However, after an unsuccessful attempt to replicate the results with preschoolers (Experiment 4, N=24), in Experiment 5 (N=24) we further investigate the development of teacher evaluation in a sample of seven- and eight-year-olds. These older children successfully distinguished teachers based on the amount and value of what was demonstrated, and their ability to evaluate omissions relative to the teacher's knowledge state was related to their tendency to spontaneously reference the teacher's knowledge when explaining their evaluations. In sum, our work illustrates how the human ability to learn from others supports not just learning about the world but also learning about the teachers themselves. By reasoning about others' informativeness, learners can evaluate others' teaching and make better learning decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Bass
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States.
| | - Elizabeth Bonawitz
- Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States.
| | | | - Wai Keen Vong
- Center for Data Science, New York University, New York, NY 10011, United States.
| | - Noah D Goodman
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States.
| | - Hyowon Gweon
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States.
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38
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Mangalam M, Fragaszy DM, Wagman JB, Day BM, Kelty-Stephen DG, Bongers RM, Stout DW, Osiurak F. On the psychological origins of tool use. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104521. [PMID: 34998834 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The ubiquity of tool use in human life has generated multiple lines of scientific and philosophical investigation to understand the development and expression of humans' engagement with tools and its relation to other dimensions of human experience. However, existing literature on tool use faces several epistemological challenges in which the same set of questions generate many different answers. At least four critical questions can be identified, which are intimately intertwined-(1) What constitutes tool use? (2) What psychological processes underlie tool use in humans and nonhuman animals? (3) Which of these psychological processes are exclusive to tool use? (4) Which psychological processes involved in tool use are exclusive to Homo sapiens? To help advance a multidisciplinary scientific understanding of tool use, six author groups representing different academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology, psychology, neuroscience) and different theoretical perspectives respond to each of these questions, and then point to the direction of future work on tool use. We find that while there are marked differences among the responses of the respective author groups to each question, there is a surprising degree of agreement about many essential concepts and questions. We believe that this interdisciplinary and intertheoretical discussion will foster a more comprehensive understanding of tool use than any one of these perspectives (or any one of these author groups) would (or could) on their own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhur Mangalam
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
| | | | - Jeffrey B Wagman
- Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - Brian M Day
- Department of Psychology, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
| | | | - Raoul M Bongers
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Dietrich W Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon 69361, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris 75231, France
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Abstract
Human expression is open-ended, versatile, and diverse, ranging from ordinary language use to painting, from exaggerated displays of affection to micro-movements that aid coordination. Here we present and defend the claim that this expressive diversity is united by an interrelated suite of cognitive capacities, the evolved functions of which are the expression and recognition of informative intentions. We describe how evolutionary dynamics normally leash communication to narrow domains of statistical mutual benefit, and how expression is unleashed in humans. The relevant cognitive capacities are cognitive adaptations to living in a partner choice social ecology; and they are, correspondingly, part of the ordinarily developing human cognitive phenotype, emerging early and reliably in ontogeny. In other words, we identify distinctive features of our species' social ecology to explain how and why humans, and only humans, evolved the cognitive capacities that, in turn, lead to massive diversity and open-endedness in means and modes of expression. Language use is but one of these modes of expression, albeit one of manifestly high importance. We make cross-species comparisons, describe how the relevant cognitive capacities can evolve in a gradual manner, and survey how unleashed expression facilitates not only language use, but also novel behaviour in many other domains too, focusing on the examples of joint action, teaching, punishment, and art, all of which are ubiquitous in human societies but relatively rare in other species. Much of this diversity derives from graded aspects of human expression, which can be used to satisfy informative intentions in creative and new ways. We aim to help reorient cognitive pragmatics, as a phenomenon that is not a supplement to linguistic communication and on the periphery of language science, but rather the foundation of the many of the most distinctive features of human behaviour, society, and culture.
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40
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Can bifocal stance theory explain children's selectivity in active information transmission? Behav Brain Sci 2022; 45:e251. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22001327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
To shed light on the key premise of the bifocal stance theory (BST) that social learners flexibly take instrumental and ritual stances, we focus on developmental origins of child-led information transmission, or teaching, as a core social learning strategy. We highlight children's emerging selectivity in information transmission influenced by epistemic and social factors and call for systematic investigation of proposed stance-taking.
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41
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Mikeliban M, Kunz B, Rahmaeti T, Uomini N, Schuppli C. Orangutan mothers adjust their behaviour during food solicitations in a way that likely facilitates feeding skill acquisition in their offspring. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23679. [PMID: 34880303 PMCID: PMC8655057 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02901-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Immature orangutans acquire their feeding skills over several years, via social and independent learning. So far, it has remained uninvestigated to what extent orangutan mothers are actively involved in this learning process. From a fitness point of view, it may be adaptive for mothers to facilitate their offspring’s skill acquisition to make them reach nutritional independence faster. Food solicitations are potential means to social learning which, because of their interactive nature, allow to investigate the degree of active involvement of the mother. To investigate the role of food solicitation and the role of the mother in immatures’ foraging skill acquisition, we analysed 1390 food solicitation events between 21 immature Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) and their mothers, collected over 13 years at the Suaq Balimbing orangutan population. We found that solicitation rates decreased with increasing age of the immatures and increased with increasing processing complexity of the food item. Mothers were more likely to share complex items and showed the highest likelihoods of sharing around the age at which immatures are learning most of their feeding skills. Our results indicate that immature Sumatran orangutans use food solicitation to acquire feeding skills. Furthermore, mothers flexibly adjust their behaviour in a way that likely facilitates their offspring’s skill acquisition. We conclude that orangutan mothers have a more active role in the skill acquisition of their offspring than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mulati Mikeliban
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Belinda Kunz
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tri Rahmaeti
- Department of Biology, Graduate School, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta, 12520, Indonesia
| | - Natalie Uomini
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Caroline Schuppli
- Development and Evolution of Cognition Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467, Konstanz, Germany. .,Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, CH-8006, Zurich, Switzerland.
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42
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Bayani KYT, Natraj N, Khresdish N, Pargeter J, Stout D, Wheaton LA. Emergence of perceptuomotor relationships during paleolithic stone toolmaking learning: intersections of observation and practice. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1278. [PMID: 34764417 PMCID: PMC8585878 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02768-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Stone toolmaking is a human motor skill which provides the earliest archeological evidence motor skill and social learning. Intentionally shaping a stone into a functional tool relies on the interaction of action observation and practice to support motor skill acquisition. The emergence of adaptive and efficient visuomotor processes during motor learning of such a novel motor skill requiring complex semantic understanding, like stone toolmaking, is not understood. Through the examination of eye movements and motor skill, the current study sought to evaluate the changes and relationship in perceptuomotor processes during motor learning and performance over 90 h of training. Participants' gaze and motor performance were assessed before, during and following training. Gaze patterns reveal a transition from initially high gaze variability during initial observation to lower gaze variability after training. Perceptual changes were strongly associated with motor performance improvements suggesting a coupling of perceptual and motor processes during motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nikhilesh Natraj
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Division of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nada Khresdish
- Anthropology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Justin Pargeter
- Anthropology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dietrich Stout
- Anthropology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lewis A Wheaton
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Strachan JWA, Curioni A, Constable MD, Knoblich G, Charbonneau M. Evaluating the relative contributions of copying and reconstruction processes in cultural transmission episodes. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0256901. [PMID: 34529662 PMCID: PMC8445411 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to transmit information between individuals through social learning is a foundational component of cultural evolution. However, how this transmission occurs is still debated. On the one hand, the copying account draws parallels with biological mechanisms for genetic inheritance, arguing that learners copy what they observe and novel variations occur through random copying errors. On the other hand, the reconstruction account claims that, rather than directly copying behaviour, learners reconstruct the information that they believe to be most relevant on the basis of pragmatic inference, environmental and contextual cues. Distinguishing these two accounts empirically is difficult based on data from typical transmission chain studies because the predictions they generate frequently overlap. In this study we present a methodological approach that generates different predictions of these accounts by manipulating the task context between model and learner in a transmission episode. We then report an empirical proof-of-concept that applies this approach. The results show that, when a model introduces context-dependent embedded signals to their actions that are not intended to be transmitted, it is possible to empirically distinguish between competing predictions made by these two accounts. Our approach can therefore serve to understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms at play in cultural transmission and can make important contributions to the debate between preservative and reconstructive schools of thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W. A. Strachan
- Cognition, Motion and Neuroscience Unit, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
| | - Arianna Curioni
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
| | - Merryn D. Constable
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
- Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Günther Knoblich
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mathieu Charbonneau
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
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Farhat F, Howe N, Della Porta S, Ross H. Maternal and Paternal Teaching in a Naturalistic Home Environment. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2021.1956929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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45
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Stout D. The Cognitive Science of Technology. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:964-977. [PMID: 34362661 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Technology is central to human life but hard to define and study. This review synthesizes advances in fields from anthropology to evolutionary biology and neuroscience to propose an interdisciplinary cognitive science of technology. The foundation of this effort is an evolutionarily motivated definition of technology that highlights three key features: material production, social collaboration, and cultural reproduction. This broad scope respects the complexity of the subject but poses a challenge for theoretical unification. Addressing this challenge requires a comparative approach to reduce the diversity of real-world technological cognition to a smaller number of recurring processes and relationships. To this end, a synthetic perceptual-motor hypothesis (PMH) for the evolutionary-developmental-cultural construction of technological cognition is advanced as an initial target for investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dietrich Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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46
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Bennett MS. What Behavioral Abilities Emerged at Key Milestones in Human Brain Evolution? 13 Hypotheses on the 600-Million-Year Phylogenetic History of Human Intelligence. Front Psychol 2021; 12:685853. [PMID: 34393912 PMCID: PMC8358274 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper presents 13 hypotheses regarding the specific behavioral abilities that emerged at key milestones during the 600-million-year phylogenetic history from early bilaterians to extant humans. The behavioral, intellectual, and cognitive faculties of humans are complex and varied: we have abilities as diverse as map-based navigation, theory of mind, counterfactual learning, episodic memory, and language. But these faculties, which emerge from the complex human brain, are likely to have evolved from simpler prototypes in the simpler brains of our ancestors. Understanding the order in which behavioral abilities evolved can shed light on how and why our brains evolved. To propose these hypotheses, I review the available data from comparative psychology and evolutionary neuroscience.
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47
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Gärdenfors P. Causal Reasoning and Event Cognition as Evolutionary Determinants of Language Structure. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 23:843. [PMID: 34209081 PMCID: PMC8305407 DOI: 10.3390/e23070843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this article is to provide an evolutionarily grounded explanation of central aspects of the structure of language. It begins with an account of the evolution of human causal reasoning. A comparison between humans and non-human primates suggests that human causal cognition is based on reasoning about the underlying forces that are involved in events, while other primates hardly understand external forces. This is illustrated by an analysis of the causal cognition required for early hominin tool use. Second, the thinking concerning forces in causation is used to motivate a model of human event cognition. A mental representation of an event contains two vectors representing a cause as well as a result but also entities such as agents, patients, instruments and locations. The fundamental connection between event representations and language is that declarative sentences express events (or states). The event structure also explains why sentences are constituted of noun phrases and verb phrases. Finally, the components of the event representation show up in language, where causes and effects are expressed by verbs, agents and patients by nouns (modified by adjectives), locations by prepositions, etc. Thus, the evolution of the complexity of mental event representations also provides insight into the evolution of the structure of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Gärdenfors
- Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, LUX, Lund University, Box 192, S-221 00 Lund, Sweden;
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park ZA-2006, South Africa
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Insights from comparative research on social and cultural learning. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2021; 254:247-270. [PMID: 32859290 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Social cognitive skills play a crucial role in human life, and have allowed us to reach a unique level of behavioral and cultural complexity. However, many nonhuman species also show a complex understanding of the social world. Building on theories of human social development, we will follow the emergence of cultural learning skills across taxa, discussing similarities and differences between humans and other species. We will first review literature on social learning, including enhancement, emulation and imitation. Then, we will discuss existing studies on the evolution of teaching, and finally, we will critically review literature on the social transmission of skills and knowledge across generations. By adopting a comparative perspective, we will be able to identify the unique characteristics of social transmission in humans, and the social skills that are instead shared with other species, to gain a deeper understanding of the role of cultural learning in social cognitive development.
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Barreto C, Bruneri GDA, Brockington G, Ayaz H, Sato JR. A New Statistical Approach for fNIRS Hyperscanning to Predict Brain Activity of Preschoolers' Using Teacher's. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:622146. [PMID: 34025373 PMCID: PMC8137814 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.622146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Hyperscanning studies using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) have been performed to understand the neural mechanisms underlying human-human interactions. In this study, we propose a novel methodological approach that is developed for fNIRS multi-brain analysis. Our method uses support vector regression (SVR) to predict one brain activity time series using another as the predictor. We applied the proposed methodology to explore the teacher-student interaction, which plays a critical role in the formal learning process. In an illustrative application, we collected fNIRS data of the teacher and preschoolers’ dyads performing an interaction task. The teacher explained to the child how to add two numbers in the context of a game. The Prefrontal cortex and temporal-parietal junction of both teacher and student were recorded. A multivariate regression model was built for each channel in each dyad, with the student’s signal as the response variable and the teacher’s ones as the predictors. We compared the predictions of SVR with the conventional ordinary least square (OLS) predictor. The results predicted by the SVR model were statistically significantly correlated with the actual test data at least one channel-pair for all dyads. Overall, 29/90 channel-pairs across the five dyads (18 channels 5 dyads = 90 channel-pairs) presented significant signal predictions withthe SVR approach. The conventional OLS resulted in only 4 out of 90 valid predictions. These results demonstrated that the SVR could be used to perform channel-wise predictions across individuals, and the teachers’ cortical activity can be used to predict the student brain hemodynamic response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candida Barreto
- Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Federal University of ABC, Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
| | | | - Guilherme Brockington
- Center for Natural and Human Sciences, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, Brazil
| | - Hasan Ayaz
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Drexel Solutions Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Joao Ricardo Sato
- Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Federal University of ABC, Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.,Interdisciplinary Unit for Applied Neuroscience, Federal University of ABC, Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
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Opportunities for Interaction. HUMAN NATURE-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2021; 32:208-238. [DOI: 10.1007/s12110-021-09393-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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