1
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Formaux A, Sperber D, Fagot J, Claidière N. Guinea baboons are strategic cooperators. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadi5282. [PMID: 37889969 PMCID: PMC10610893 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi5282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Humans are strategic cooperators; we make decisions on the basis of costs and benefits to maintain high levels of cooperation, and this is thought to have played a key role in human evolution. In comparison, monkeys and apes might lack the cognitive capacities necessary to develop flexible forms of cooperation. We show that Guinea baboons (Papio papio) can use direct reciprocity and partner choice to develop and maintain high levels of cooperation in a prosocial choice task. Our findings demonstrate that monkeys have the cognitive capacities to adjust their level of cooperation strategically using a combination of partner choice and partner control strategies. Such capacities were likely present in our common ancestor and would have provided the foundations for the evolution of typically human forms of cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Formaux
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS UAR846, Rousset, France
| | - Dan Sperber
- Central European University, Wien, Austria
- Institut Jean Nicod, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Joël Fagot
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS UAR846, Rousset, France
- Institute for Language, Communication and the Brain, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS UAR846, Rousset, France
- Institute for Language, Communication and the Brain, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France
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2
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Mascaro O, Goupil N, Pantecouteau H, Depierreux A, Van der Henst JB, Claidière N. Human and animal dominance hierarchies show a pyramidal structure guiding adult and infant social inferences. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1294-1306. [PMID: 37386104 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01634-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates the structure of social hierarchies. We hypothesized that if social dominance relations serve to regulate conflicts over resources, then hierarchies should converge towards pyramidal shapes. Structural analyses and simulations confirmed this hypothesis, revealing a triadic-pyramidal motif across human and non-human hierarchies (114 species). Phylogenetic analyses showed that this pyramidal motif is widespread, with little influence of group size or phylogeny. Furthermore, nine experiments conducted in France found that human adults (N = 120) and infants (N = 120) draw inferences about dominance relations that are consistent with hierarchies' pyramidal motif. By contrast, human participants do not draw equivalent inferences based on a tree-shaped pattern with a similar complexity to pyramids. In short, social hierarchies exhibit a pyramidal motif across a wide range of species and environments. From infancy, humans exploit this regularity to draw systematic inferences about unobserved dominance relations, using processes akin to formal reasoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Mascaro
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France.
| | - Nicolas Goupil
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives-Marc Jeannerod, UMR5229, CNRS and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron, France
| | | | - Adeline Depierreux
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Van der Henst
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, U1028, UMR5292, Trajectoires, Bron, France
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3
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Osiurak F, Federico G, Claidière N. Technical reasoning: neither cognitive instinct nor cognitive gadget. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:339-340. [PMID: 36709097 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, 5 avenue Pierre Mendès France, 69676 Bron Cedex, France; Institut Universitaire de France, 1 rue Descartes, 75231 Paris Cedex 5, France.
| | - Giovanni Federico
- IRCCS Synlab SDN S.p.A., Via Emanuele Gianturco 113, 80143, Naples, Italy
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille, France
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Osiurak F, Claidière N, Federico G. Cultural cognition and technology: Mechanical actions speak louder than bodily actions: Comment on "Blind alleys and fruitful pathways in the comparative study of cultural cognition" by Andrew Whiten. Phys Life Rev 2023; 44:141-144. [PMID: 36640588 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, 5 avenue Pierre Mendès France, 69676 Bron Cedex, France; Institut Universitaire de France, 1 rue Descartes, 75231 Paris Cedex 5, France.
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille, France
| | - Giovanni Federico
- IRCCS Synlab SDN S.p.A., Via Emanuele Gianturco 113, 80143, Naples, Italy; Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Via Suor Orsola 10, 80135, Naples, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy
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Osiurak F, Claidière N, Federico G. Bringing cumulative technological culture beyond copying versus reasoning. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:30-42. [PMID: 36283920 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The dominant view of cumulative technological culture suggests that high-fidelity transmission rests upon a high-fidelity copying ability, which allows individuals to reproduce the tool-use actions performed by others without needing to understand them (i.e., without causal reasoning). The opposition between copying versus reasoning is well accepted but with little supporting evidence. In this article, we investigate this distinction by examining the cognitive science literature on tool use. Evidence indicates that the ability to reproduce others' tool-use actions requires causal understanding, which questions the copying versus reasoning distinction and the cognitive reality of the so-called copying ability. We conclude that new insights might be gained by considering causal understanding as a key driver of cumulative technological culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, 5 avenue Pierre Mendès France, 69676 Bron Cedex, France; Institut Universitaire de France, 1 rue Descartes, 75231 Paris Cedex 5, France.
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille, France
| | - Giovanni Federico
- IRCCS Synlab SDN S.p.A., Via Emanuele Gianturco 113, 80143, Naples, Italy
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Gullstrand J, Claidière N, Fagot J. Age effect in expert cognitive flexibility in Guinea baboons (Papio papio). Behav Brain Res 2022; 434:114043. [PMID: 35933047 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility in non-human primates is traditionally measured with the conceptual set shifting task (CSST). In our laboratory, Guinea baboons (N = 24) were continuously tested with a CSST task during approximately 10 years. Our task involved the presentation of three stimuli on a touch screen all made from 3 possible colours and 3 shapes. The subjects had to touch the stimulus containing the stimulus dimension (e.g., green) that was constantly rewarded until the stimulus dimension changed. Analysis of perseveration responses, scores and response times collected during the last two years of testing (approximately 1.6 million trials) indicate (1) that the baboons have developed an "expert" form of cognitive flexibility and (2) that their performance was age-dependent, it was at a developing stage in juveniles, optimal in adults, declining in middle-aged, and strongly impaired in the oldest age group. A direct comparison with the data collected by Bonté , Flemming & Fagot (2011) on some of the same baboons and same task as in the current study indicates that (3) the performance of all age groups has improved after 10 years of training, even for the now old individuals. All these data validate the use of non-human primates as models of human cognitive flexibility and suggest that cognitive flexibility in humans has a long evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Gullstrand
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, and Primatology Station of the CNRS-Celphedia, France.
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, and Primatology Station of the CNRS-Celphedia, France
| | - Joel Fagot
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, and Primatology Station of the CNRS-Celphedia, France.
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Messer EJ, Bowler MT, Claidière N, Whiten A. The role of anointing in robust capuchin monkey, Sapajus apella, social dynamics. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.04.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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Formaux A, O'Sullivan E, Fagot J, Claidière N. Understanding Imitation in Papio papio: The Role of Experience and the Presence of a Conspecific Demonstrator. Cogn Sci 2022; 46:e13117. [PMID: 35297093 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
What factors affect imitation performance? Varying theories of imitation stress the role of experience, but few studies have explicitly tested its role in imitative learning in non-human primates. We tested several predictions regarding the role of experience, conspecific presence, and action compatibility using a stimulus-response compatibility protocol. Nineteen baboons separated into two experimental groups learned to respond by targeting on a touch screen the same stimulus as their neighbor (compatible) or the opposite stimulus (incompatible). They first performed the task with a conspecific demonstrator (social phase) and then a computer demonstrator (ghost phase). After reaching a predetermined success threshold, they were then tested in an opposite compatibility condition (i.e., reversal learning conditions). Seven baboons performed at least two reversals during the social phase, and we found no significant difference between the compatible and incompatible conditions, although we noticed slightly faster response times (RTs) in the compatible condition that disappeared after the first reversal. During the ghost phase, monkeys showed difficulties in learning the incompatible condition, and the compatible condition RTs tended to be slower than during the social phase. Together, these results suggest that (a) there is no strong movement compatibility effect in our task and that (b) the presence of a demonstrator plays a role in eliciting correct responses but is not essential as has been previously shown in human studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Formaux
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC), Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS.,Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC), CNRS.,Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS
| | - Eoin O'Sullivan
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of St. Andrews
| | - Joël Fagot
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC), Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS.,Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC), CNRS.,Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC), Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS.,Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC), CNRS.,Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS
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Osiurak F, Claidière N, Bluet A, Brogniart J, Lasserre S, Bonhoure T, Di Rollo L, Gorry N, Polette Y, Saude A, Federico G, Uomini N, Reynaud E. Technical reasoning bolsters cumulative technological culture through convergent transformations. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabl7446. [PMID: 35235360 PMCID: PMC8890708 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl7446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the evolution of human technology is key to solving the mystery of our origins. Current theories propose that technology evolved through the accumulation of modifications that were mostly transmitted between individuals by blind copying and the selective retention of advantageous variations. An alternative account is that high-fidelity transmission in the context of cumulative technological culture is supported by technical reasoning, which is a reconstruction mechanism that allows individuals to converge to optimal solutions. We tested these two competing hypotheses with a microsociety experiment, in which participants had to optimize a physical system in partial- and degraded-information transmission conditions. Our results indicated an improvement of the system over generations, which was accompanied by an increased understanding of it. The solutions produced tended to progressively converge over generations. These findings show that technical reasoning can bolster high-fidelity transmission through convergent transformations, which highlights its role in the cultural evolution of technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | | | - Alexandre Bluet
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Joël Brogniart
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Salomé Lasserre
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Timothé Bonhoure
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Laura Di Rollo
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Néo Gorry
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Yohann Polette
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Alix Saude
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | | | - Natalie Uomini
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emanuelle Reynaud
- Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
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Becker Y, Claidière N, Margiotoudi K, Marie D, Roth M, Nazarian B, Anton JL, Coulon O, Meguerditchian A. Broca area homologue's asymmetry reflects gestural communication lateralisation in monkeys (Papio anubis). eLife 2022; 11:70521. [PMID: 35108197 PMCID: PMC8846582 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Manual gestures and speech recruit a common neural network, involving Broca’s area in the left hemisphere. Such speech-gesture integration gave rise to theories on the critical role of manual gesturing in the origin of language. Within this evolutionary framework, research on gestural communication in our closer primate relatives has received renewed attention for investigating its potential language-like features. Here, using in vivo anatomical MRI in 50 baboons, we found that communicative gesturing is related to Broca homologue’s marker in monkeys, namely the ventral portion of the Inferior Arcuate sulcus (IA sulcus). In fact, both direction and degree of gestural communication’s handedness – but not handedness for object manipulation are associated and correlated with contralateral depth asymmetry at this exact IA sulcus portion. In other words, baboons that prefer to communicate with their right hand have a deeper left-than-right IA sulcus, than those preferring to communicate with their left hand and vice versa. Interestingly, in contrast to handedness for object manipulation, gestural communication’s lateralisation is not associated to the Central sulcus depth asymmetry, suggesting a double dissociation of handedness’ types between manipulative action and gestural communication. It is thus not excluded that this specific gestural lateralisation signature within the baboons’ frontal cortex might reflect a phylogenetical continuity with language-related Broca lateralisation in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Becker
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Konstantina Margiotoudi
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Damien Marie
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Muriel Roth
- Centre IRMf Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Nazarian
- Centre IRM Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Luc Anton
- Centre IRM Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Olivier Coulon
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Adrien Meguerditchian
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
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Formaux A, Paleressompoulle D, Fagot J, Claidière N. The experimental emergence of convention in a non-human primate. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200310. [PMID: 34894743 PMCID: PMC8666916 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Conventions form an essential part of human social and cultural behaviour and may also be important to other animal societies. Yet, despite the wealth of evidence that has accumulated for culture in non-human animals, we know surprisingly little about non-human conventions beyond a few rare examples. We follow the literature in behavioural ecology and evolution and define conventions as systematic behaviours that solve a coordination problem in which two or more individuals need to display complementary behaviour to obtain a mutually beneficial outcome. We start by discussing the literature on conventions in non-human primates from this perspective and conclude that all the ingredients for conventions to emerge are present and therefore that they ought to be more frequently observed. We then probe the emergence of conventions by using a unique novel experimental system in which pairs of Guinea baboons (Papio papio) can voluntarily participate together in touchscreen-based cognitive testing and we show that conventions readily emerge in our experimental set-up and that they share three fundamental properties of human conventions (arbitrariness, stability and efficiency). These results question the idea that observational learning, and imitation in particular, is necessary to establish conventions; they suggest that positive reinforcement is enough. 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)
- Anthony Formaux
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331 Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS UAR846, Rousset, France
| | - Dany Paleressompoulle
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331 Marseille, France
| | - Joël Fagot
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331 Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS UAR846, Rousset, France
- Institute for Language, Communication and the Brain, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331 Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie-Celphedia, CNRS UAR846, Rousset, France
- Institute for Language, Communication and the Brain, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France
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Mercier H, Hacquin AS, Claidière N. Being Easy to Communicate Might Make Verdicts Based on Confessions More Legitimate. J Cogn Cult 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/15685373-12340104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In many judicial systems, confessions are a requirement for criminal conviction. Even if confessions are intrinsically convincing, this might not entirely explain why they play such a paramount role. In addition, it has been suggested that confessions owe their importance to their legitimizing role, explaining why they could be required even when other evidence has convinced a judge. But why would confessions be particularly suited to justify verdicts? One possibility is that they can be more easily transmitted from one individual to the next, and thus spread in the population without losing their convincingness. 360 English-speaking participants were asked to evaluate the convincingness of one of three justifications for a verdict, grounded either in a confession, eyewitnesses, or circumstantial evidence, and to pass on that justification to another participant, who performed the same task. Then, 240 English-speaking participants evaluated the convincingness of some of the justifications produced by the first group of participants. Compared to the other justifications, justifications based on confessions lost less of their convincingness in the transmission process (small to medium effect sizes). Modeling pointed to the most common forms the justifications would take as they are transmitted, and results showed that the most common variant of the justification based on a confession was more convincing (small to medium effect sizes).
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Mercier
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, PSL University, CNRS Paris France
| | - Anne-Sophie Hacquin
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, PSL University, CNRS Paris France
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Abstract
Does discussion in large groups help or hinder the wisdom of crowds? To give rise to the wisdom of crowds, by which large groups can yield surprisingly accurate answers, aggregation mechanisms such as averaging of opinions or majority voting rely on diversity of opinions, and independence between the voters. Discussion tends to reduce diversity and independence. On the other hand, discussion in small groups has been shown to improve the accuracy of individual answers. To test the effects of discussion in large groups, we gave groups of participants (N = 1958 participants in groups of size ranging from 22 to 212; mean 59) one of three types of problems (demonstrative, factual, ethical) to solve, first individually, and then through discussion. For demonstrative (logical or mathematical) problems, discussion improved individual answers, as well as the answers reached through aggregation. For factual problems, discussion improved individual answers, and either improved or had no effect on the answers reached through aggregation. Our results suggest that, for problems which have a correct answer, discussion in large groups does not detract from the effects of the wisdom of crowds, and tends on the contrary to improve on it.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Mercier
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, PSL University, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - N Claidière
- Aix Marseille University, CNRS, LPC, FED3C, Marseille, France.
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Meguerditchian A, Marie D, Margiotoudi K, Roth M, Nazarian B, Anton JL, Claidière N. Baboons (Papio anubis) living in larger social groups have bigger brains. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Abstract
People often attribute rumours to an individual in a knowledgeable position two steps removed from them (a credible friend of a friend), such as 'my friend's father, who's a cop, told me about a serial killer in town'. Little is known about the influence of such attributions on rumour propagation, or how they are maintained when the rumour is transmitted. In four studies (N = 1824) participants exposed to a rumour and asked to transmit it overwhelmingly attributed it either to a credible friend of a friend, or to a generic friend (e.g. 'a friend told me about a serial killer in town'). In both cases, participants engaged in source shortening: e.g. when told by a friend that 'a friend told me …' they shared the rumour as coming from 'a friend' instead of 'a friend of friend'. Source shortening and reliance on credible sources boosted rumour propagation by increasing the rumours' perceived plausibility and participants' willingness to share them. Models show that, in linear transmission chains, the generic friend attribution dominates, but that allowing each individual to be exposed to the rumour from several sources enables the maintenance of the credible friend of a friend attribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sacha Altay
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, PSL University, CNRS, Paris, France
| | | | - Hugo Mercier
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, PSL University, CNRS, Paris, France
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Abstract
Many socially significant beliefs are unintuitive, from the harmlessness of GMOs to the efficacy of vaccination, and they are acquired via deference toward individuals who are more confident, more competent or a majority. In the two-step flow model of communication, a first group of individuals acquires some beliefs through deference and then spreads these beliefs more broadly. Ideally, these individuals should be able to explain why they deferred to a given source - to provide arguments from expertise - and others should find these arguments convincing. We test these requirements using a perceptual task with participants from the US and Japan. In Experiment 1, participants were provided with first-hand evidence that they should defer to an expert, leading a majority of participants to adopt the expert's answer. However, when attempting to pass on this answer, only a minority of those participants used arguments from expertise. In Experiment 2, participants receive an argument from expertise describing the expert's competence, instead of witnessing it first-hand. This leads to a significant drop in deference compared with Experiment 1. These experiments highlight significant obstacles to the transmission of unintuitive beliefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Mercier
- Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, PSL University, CNRS, ParisFrance
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5304, CNRS and Université de Lyon, Bron, France
| | | | - Nicolas Claidière
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC UMR 7290, 13331, Marseille, France
| | - Jessica Léone
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR 5304, CNRS and Université de Lyon, Bron, France
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18
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Saldana C, Fagot J, Kirby S, Smith K, Claidière N. High-fidelity copying is not necessarily the key to cumulative cultural evolution: a study in monkeys and children. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190729. [PMID: 31161908 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The unique cumulative nature of human culture has often been explained by high-fidelity copying mechanisms found only in human social learning. However, transmission chain experiments in human and non-human primates suggest that cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) might not necessarily depend on high-fidelity copying after all. In this study, we test whether defining properties of CCE can emerge in a non-copying task. We performed transmission chain experiments in Guinea baboons and human children where individuals observed and produced visual patterns composed of four squares on touchscreen devices. In order to be rewarded, participants had to avoid touching squares that were touched by a previous participant. In other words, they were rewarded for innovation rather than copying. Results nevertheless exhibited fundamental properties of CCE: an increase over generations in task performance and the emergence of systematic structure. However, these properties arose from different mechanisms across species: children, unlike baboons, converged in behaviour over generations by copying specific patterns in a different location, thus introducing alternative copying mechanisms into the non-copying task. In children, prior biases towards specific shapes led to convergence in behaviour across chains, while baboon chains showed signs of lineage specificity. We conclude that CCE can result from mechanisms with varying degrees of fidelity in transmission and thus that high-fidelity copying is not necessarily the key to CCE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Saldana
- 1 Centre for Language Evolution, School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh EH8 9AD , UK
| | - Joël Fagot
- 2 Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC UMR 7290 , 13331 Marseille , France.,3 Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University , Aix-en-Provence , France
| | - Simon Kirby
- 1 Centre for Language Evolution, School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh EH8 9AD , UK
| | - Kenny Smith
- 1 Centre for Language Evolution, School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh EH8 9AD , UK
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- 2 Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC UMR 7290 , 13331 Marseille , France.,3 Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University , Aix-en-Provence , France
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19
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Fagot J, Boë LJ, Berthomier F, Claidière N, Malassis R, Meguerditchian A, Rey A, Montant M. The baboon: A model for the study of language evolution. J Hum Evol 2018; 126:39-50. [PMID: 30583843 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 10/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Comparative research on the origins of human language often focuses on a limited number of language-related cognitive functions or anatomical structures that are compared across species. The underlying assumption of this approach is that a single or a limited number of factors may crucially explain how language appeared in the human lineage. Another potentially fruitful approach is to consider human language as the result of a (unique) assemblage of multiple cognitive and anatomical components, some of which are present in other species. This paper is a first step in that direction. It focuses on the baboon, a non-human primate that has been studied extensively for years, including several brain, anatomical, cognitive and cultural dimensions that are involved in human language. This paper presents recent data collected on baboons regarding (1) a selection of domain-general cognitive functions that are core functions for language, (2) vocal production, (3) gestural production and cerebral lateralization, and (4) cumulative culture. In all these domains, it shows that the baboons share with humans many cognitive or brain mechanisms which are central for language. Because of the multidimensionality of the knowledge accumulated on the baboon, that species is an excellent nonhuman primate model for the study of the evolutionary origins of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Fagot
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
| | | | | | - Nicolas Claidière
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Raphaelle Malassis
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Adrien Meguerditchian
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Arnaud Rey
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Marie Montant
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
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20
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Cauchoix M, Chow PKY, van Horik JO, Atance CM, Barbeau EJ, Barragan-Jason G, Bize P, Boussard A, Buechel SD, Cabirol A, Cauchard L, Claidière N, Dalesman S, Devaud JM, Didic M, Doligez B, Fagot J, Fichtel C, Henke-von der Malsburg J, Hermer E, Huber L, Huebner F, Kappeler PM, Klein S, Langbein J, Langley EJG, Lea SEG, Lihoreau M, Lovlie H, Matzel LD, Nakagawa S, Nawroth C, Oesterwind S, Sauce B, Smith EA, Sorato E, Tebbich S, Wallis LJ, Whiteside MA, Wilkinson A, Chaine AS, Morand-Ferron J. The repeatability of cognitive performance: a meta-analysis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170281. [PMID: 30104426 PMCID: PMC6107569 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioural and cognitive processes play important roles in mediating an individual's interactions with its environment. Yet, while there is a vast literature on repeatable individual differences in behaviour, relatively little is known about the repeatability of cognitive performance. To further our understanding of the evolution of cognition, we gathered 44 studies on individual performance of 25 species across six animal classes and used meta-analysis to assess whether cognitive performance is repeatable. We compared repeatability (R) in performance (1) on the same task presented at different times (temporal repeatability), and (2) on different tasks that measured the same putative cognitive ability (contextual repeatability). We also addressed whether R estimates were influenced by seven extrinsic factors (moderators): type of cognitive performance measurement, type of cognitive task, delay between tests, origin of the subjects, experimental context, taxonomic class and publication status. We found support for both temporal and contextual repeatability of cognitive performance, with mean R estimates ranging between 0.15 and 0.28. Repeatability estimates were mostly influenced by the type of cognitive performance measures and publication status. Our findings highlight the widespread occurrence of consistent inter-individual variation in cognition across a range of taxa which, like behaviour, may be associated with fitness outcomes.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Cauchoix
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS UMR5321, Evolutionary Ecology Group, 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 21 allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, France
| | - P K Y Chow
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Graduate School of Environmental Science, Division of Biospohere Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - J O van Horik
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - C M Atance
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - E J Barbeau
- Centre de recherche Cerveau et Cognition, UPS-CNRS, UMR5549, Toulouse, France
| | - G Barragan-Jason
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 21 allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, France
| | - P Bize
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - A Boussard
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - S D Buechel
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - A Cabirol
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - L Cauchard
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - N Claidière
- LPC, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - S Dalesman
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
| | - J M Devaud
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - M Didic
- AP-HM Timone & Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Marseille, France
| | - B Doligez
- Department of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, CNRS UMR 5558, Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - J Fagot
- LPC, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - C Fichtel
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - J Henke-von der Malsburg
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - E Hermer
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - L Huber
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - F Huebner
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - P M Kappeler
- Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Centre, Leibniz Institute for Primatology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Sociobiology/Anthropology, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus 'Primate Cognition', Göttingen, Germany
| | - S Klein
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - J Langbein
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany
| | - E J G Langley
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - S E G Lea
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - M Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - H Lovlie
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - L D Matzel
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - S Nakagawa
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - C Nawroth
- Institute of Behavioural Physiology, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Dummerstorf, Germany
| | - S Oesterwind
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - B Sauce
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - E A Smith
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - E Sorato
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - S Tebbich
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - L J Wallis
- Clever Dog Lab, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - M A Whiteside
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - A Wilkinson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - A S Chaine
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS UMR5321, Evolutionary Ecology Group, 2 route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, 21 allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, France
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21
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Dumas F, Fagot J, Davranche K, Claidière N. Other better versus self better in baboons: an evolutionary approach of social comparison. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0248. [PMID: 28539512 PMCID: PMC5454261 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparing oneself with others is an important characteristic of human social life, but the link between human and non-human forms of social comparison remains largely unknown. The present study used a computerized task presented in a social context to explore psychological mechanisms supporting social comparison in baboons and compare major findings with those usually observed in humans. We found that the effects of social comparison on subject's performance were guided both by similarity (same versus different sex) and by task complexity. Comparing oneself with a better-off other (upward comparison) increased performance when the other was similar rather than dissimilar, and a reverse effect was obtained when the self was better (downward comparison). Furthermore, when the other was similar, upward comparison led to a better performance than downward comparison. Interestingly, the beneficial effect of upward comparison on baboons' performance was only observed during simple task. Our results support the hypothesis of shared social comparison mechanisms in human and non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Dumas
- Nîmes University, CHROME EA7352, Rue du Docteur Georges Salan, 30021 Nîmes Cedex 1, France
| | - J Fagot
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, FED3C, Marseille, France
| | - K Davranche
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, FED3C, Marseille, France
| | - N Claidière
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPC, FED3C, Marseille, France
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22
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O'Sullivan EP, Claidière N, Caldwell CA. Action-matching biases in monkeys (Sapajus spp.) in a stimulus-response compatibility task: Evaluating experience-dependent malleability. J Comp Psychol 2017; 131:337-347. [PMID: 28857603 DOI: 10.1037/com0000081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility effects occur when observing certain stimuli facilitate the performance of a related response and interfere with performing an incompatible or different response. Using stimulus-response action pairings, this phenomenon has been used to study imitation effects in humans, and here we use a similar procedure to examine imitative biases in nonhuman primates. Eight capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) were trained to perform hand and mouth actions in a stimulus-response compatibility task. Monkeys rewarded for performing a compatible action (i.e., using their hand or mouth to perform an action after observing an experimenter use the same effector) performed significantly better than those rewarded for incompatible actions (i.e., performing an action after observing an experimenter use the other effector), suggesting an initial bias for imitative action over an incompatible S-R pairing. After a predetermined number of trials, reward contingencies were reversed; that is, monkeys initially rewarded for compatible responses were now rewarded for incompatible responses, and vice versa. In this 2nd training stage, no difference in performance was identified between monkeys rewarded for compatible or incompatible actions, suggesting any imitative biases were now absent. In a 2nd experiment, 2 monkeys learned both compatible and incompatible reward contingencies in a series of learning reversals. Overall, no difference in performance ability could be attributed to the type of rule (compatible-incompatible) being rewarded. Together, these results suggest that monkeys exhibit a weak bias toward action copying, which (in line with findings from humans) can largely be eliminated through counterimitative experience. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Blanchette I, Marzouki Y, Claidière N, Gullstrand J, Fagot J. Emotion-Cognition Interaction in Nonhuman Primates: Cognitive Avoidance of Negative Stimuli in Baboons (Papio papio). Psychol Sci 2017; 28:3-11. [PMID: 28078977 DOI: 10.1177/0956797616671557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that emotion and cognition interact in humans, but such an interaction has not been extensively studied in nonhuman primates. We investigated whether emotional value can affect nonhuman primates' processing of stimuli that are only mentally represented, not visually available. In a short-term memory task, baboons memorized the location of two target squares of the same color, which were presented with a distractor of a different color. Through prior long-term conditioning, one of the two colors had acquired a negative valence. Subjects were slower and less accurate on the memory task when the targets were negative than when they were neutral. In contrast, subjects were faster and more accurate when the distractors were negative than when they were neutral. Some of these effects were modulated by individual differences in emotional disposition. Overall, the results reveal a pattern of cognitive avoidance of negative stimuli, and show that emotional value alters cognitive processing in baboons even when the stimuli are not physically present. This suggests that emotional influences on cognition are deeply rooted in evolutionary continuity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yousri Marzouki
- 2 LPC UMR 7290, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université.,3 Department of Social Sciences, Qatar University
| | | | | | - Joël Fagot
- 2 LPC UMR 7290, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université
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24
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Osiurak F, De Oliveira E, Navarro J, Lesourd M, Claidière N, Reynaud E. Physical intelligence does matter to cumulative technological culture. J Exp Psychol Gen 2016; 145:941-8. [PMID: 27454039 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Tool-based culture is not unique to humans, but cumulative technological culture is. The social intelligence hypothesis suggests that this phenomenon is fundamentally based on uniquely human sociocognitive skills (e.g., shared intentionality). An alternative hypothesis is that cumulative technological culture also crucially depends on physical intelligence, which may reflect fluid and crystallized aspects of intelligence and enables people to understand and improve the tools made by predecessors. By using a tool-making-based microsociety paradigm, we demonstrate that physical intelligence is a stronger predictor of cumulative technological performance than social intelligence. Moreover, learners' physical intelligence is critical not only in observational learning but also when learners interact verbally with teachers. Finally, we show that cumulative performance is only slightly influenced by teachers' physical and social intelligence. In sum, human technological culture needs "great engineers" to evolve regardless of the proportion of "great pedagogues." Social intelligence might play a more limited role than commonly assumed, perhaps in tool-use/making situations in which teachers and learners have to share symbolic representations. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Bowler M, Messer EJE, Claidière N, Whiten A. Mutual medication in capuchin monkeys - Social anointing improves coverage of topically applied anti-parasite medicines. Sci Rep 2015; 5:15030. [PMID: 26456539 PMCID: PMC4601033 DOI: 10.1038/srep15030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Wild and captive capuchin monkeys will anoint themselves with a range of strong smelling substances including millipedes, ants, limes and onions. Hypotheses for the function of the behaviour range from medicinal to social. However, capuchin monkeys may anoint in contact with other individuals, as well as individually. The function of social anointing has also been explained as either medicinal or to enhance social bonding. By manipulating the abundance of an anointing resource given to two groups of tufted capuchins, we tested predictions derived from the main hypotheses for the functions of anointing and in particular, social anointing. Monkeys engaged in individual and social anointing in similar proportions when resources were rare or common, and monkeys holding resources continued to join anointing groups, indicating that social anointing has functions beyond that of gaining access to resources. The distribution of individual and social anointing actions on the monkeys’ bodies supports a medicinal function for both individual and social anointing, that requires no additional social bonding hypotheses. Individual anointing targets hard-to-see body parts that are harder to groom, whilst social anointing targets hard-to-reach body parts. Social anointing in capuchins is a form of mutual medication that improves coverage of topically applied anti-parasite medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Bowler
- School of Psychology &Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.,San Diego Zoo Global Institute for Conservation Research, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA 92027-700, USA
| | - Emily J E Messer
- School of Psychology &Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.,School of Life Sciences Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- School of Psychology &Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.,Aix Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7290, Marseille, France
| | - Andrew Whiten
- School of Psychology &Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Culture pervades human life and is at the origin of the success of our species. A wide range of other animals have culture too, but often in a limited form that does not complexify through the gradual accumulation of innovations. We developed a new paradigm to study cultural evolution in primates in order to better evaluate our closest relatives' cultural capacities. Previous studies using transmission chain experimental paradigms, in which the behavioural output of one individual becomes the target behaviour for the next individual in the chain, show that cultural transmission can lead to the progressive emergence of systematically structured behaviours in humans. Inspired by this work, we combined a pattern reproduction task on touch screens with an iterated learning procedure to develop transmission chains of baboons (Papio papio). Using this procedure, we show that baboons can exhibit three fundamental aspects of human cultural evolution: a progressive increase in performance, the emergence of systematic structure and the presence of lineage specificity. Our results shed new light on human uniqueness: we share with our closest relatives essential capacities to produce human-like cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC UMR 7290, Marseille 13331, France
| | - Kenny Smith
- Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AD, UK
| | - Simon Kirby
- Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AD, UK
| | - Joël Fagot
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC UMR 7290, Marseille 13331, France
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28
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Fagot J, Marzouki Y, Huguet P, Gullstrand J, Claidière N. Assessment of social cognition in non-human primates using a network of computerized automated learning device (ALDM) test systems. J Vis Exp 2015:e52798. [PMID: 25992495 PMCID: PMC4541642 DOI: 10.3791/52798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Fagot & Paleressompoulle(1) and Fagot & Bonte(2) have published an automated learning device (ALDM) for the study of cognitive abilities of monkeys maintained in semi-free ranging conditions. Data accumulated during the last five years have consistently demonstrated the efficiency of this protocol to investigate individual/physical cognition in monkeys, and have further shown that this procedure reduces stress level during animal testing(3). This paper demonstrates that networks of ALDM can also be used to investigate different facets of social cognition and in-group expressed behaviors in monkeys, and describes three illustrative protocols developed for that purpose. The first study demonstrates how ethological assessments of social behavior and computerized assessments of cognitive performance could be integrated to investigate the effects of socially exhibited moods on the cognitive performance of individuals. The second study shows that batteries of ALDM running in parallel can provide unique information on the influence of the presence of others on task performance. Finally, the last study shows that networks of ALDM test units can also be used to study issues related to social transmission and cultural evolution. Combined together, these three studies demonstrate clearly that ALDM testing is a highly promising experimental tool for bridging the gap in the animal literature between research on individual cognition and research on social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joël Fagot
- CNRS, Federation 3C, and Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, Aix-Marseille University;
| | - Yousri Marzouki
- CNRS, Federation 3C, and Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, Aix-Marseille University
| | - Pascal Huguet
- CNRS, Federation 3C, and Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, Aix-Marseille University
| | - Julie Gullstrand
- CNRS, Federation 3C, and Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, Aix-Marseille University
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- CNRS, Federation 3C, and Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, Aix-Marseille University
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29
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30
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Claidière N, Whiten A, Mareno MC, Messer EJE, Brosnan SF, Hopper LM, Lambeth SP, Schapiro SJ, McGuigan N. Selective and contagious prosocial resource donation in capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees and humans. Sci Rep 2015; 5:7631. [PMID: 25559658 PMCID: PMC4284509 DOI: 10.1038/srep07631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 11/20/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Prosocial acts benefitting others are widespread amongst humans. By contrast, chimpanzees have failed to demonstrate such a disposition in several studies, leading some authors to conclude that the forms of prosociality studied evolved in humans since our common ancestry. However, similar prosocial behavior has since been documented in other primates, such as capuchin monkeys. Here, applying the same methodology to humans, chimpanzees, and capuchins, we provide evidence that all three species will display prosocial behavior, but only in certain conditions. Fundamental forms of prosociality were age-dependent in children, conditional on self-beneficial resource distributions even at age seven, and conditional on social or resource configurations in chimpanzees and capuchins. We provide the first evidence that experience of conspecific companions' prosocial behavior facilitates prosocial behavior in children and chimpanzees. Prosocial actions were manifested in all three species following rules of contingency that may reflect strategically adaptive responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Mary C. Mareno
- Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Emily J. E. Messer
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Sarah F. Brosnan
- Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
- Department of Psychology and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, PO Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA
| | - Lydia M. Hopper
- Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
- Department of Psychology and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, PO Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study & Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
| | - Susan P. Lambeth
- Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Steven J. Schapiro
- Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nicola McGuigan
- School of Life Sciences, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
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van de Waal E, Claidière N, Whiten A. Wild vervet monkeys copy alternative methods for opening an artificial fruit. Anim Cogn 2014; 18:617-27. [PMID: 25539772 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-014-0830-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2014] [Revised: 12/11/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Experimental studies of animal social learning in the wild remain rare, especially those that employ the most discriminating tests in which alternative means to complete naturalistic tasks are seeded in different groups. We applied this approach to wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) using an artificial fruit ('vervetable') opened by either lifting a door panel or sliding it left or right. In one group, a trained model lifted the door, and in two others, the model slid it either left or right. Members of each group then watched their model before being given access to multiple baited vervetables with all opening techniques possible. Thirteen of these monkeys opened vervetables, displaying a significant tendency to use the seeded technique on their first opening and over the course of the experiment. The option preferred in these monkeys' first successful manipulation session was also highly correlated with the proportional frequency of the option they had previously witnessed. The social learning effects thus documented go beyond mere stimulus enhancement insofar as the same door knob was grasped for either technique. Results thus suggest that through imitation, emulation or both, new foraging techniques will spread across groups of wild vervet monkeys to create incipient foraging traditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica van de Waal
- Scottish Primate Research Group, Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK,
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Pasquaretta C, Levé M, Claidière N, van de Waal E, Whiten A, MacIntosh AJJ, Pelé M, Bergstrom ML, Borgeaud C, Brosnan SF, Crofoot MC, Fedigan LM, Fichtel C, Hopper LM, Mareno MC, Petit O, Schnoell AV, di Sorrentino EP, Thierry B, Tiddi B, Sueur C. Social networks in primates: smart and tolerant species have more efficient networks. Sci Rep 2014; 4:7600. [PMID: 25534964 PMCID: PMC4274513 DOI: 10.1038/srep07600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2014] [Accepted: 12/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Network optimality has been described in genes, proteins and human communicative networks. In the latter, optimality leads to the efficient transmission of information with a minimum number of connections. Whilst studies show that differences in centrality exist in animal networks with central individuals having higher fitness, network efficiency has never been studied in animal groups. Here we studied 78 groups of primates (24 species). We found that group size and neocortex ratio were correlated with network efficiency. Centralisation (whether several individuals are central in the group) and modularity (how a group is clustered) had opposing effects on network efficiency, showing that tolerant species have more efficient networks. Such network properties affecting individual fitness could be shaped by natural selection. Our results are in accordance with the social brain and cultural intelligence hypotheses, which suggest that the importance of network efficiency and information flow through social learning relates to cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian Pasquaretta
- 1] Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France [2] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France
| | - Marine Levé
- 1] Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France [2] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France [3] Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- University of St Andrews, Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology &Neuroscience, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Erica van de Waal
- 1] University of St Andrews, Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology &Neuroscience, St Andrews, United Kingdom [2] Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, Swart Mfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Andrew Whiten
- 1] University of St Andrews, Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology &Neuroscience, St Andrews, United Kingdom [2] Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, Swart Mfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Andrew J J MacIntosh
- 1] Kyoto University, Primate Research Institute, Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology Kanrin 41-2, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan 484-8506 [2] Kyoto University Wildlife Research Center, 2-24 Tanaka-Sekiden-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan 606-8203
| | - Marie Pelé
- Ethobiosciences, Research and Consultancy Agency in Animal Wellbeing and Behaviour, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Christèle Borgeaud
- 1] Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, Swart Mfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa [2] University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Biology, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Sarah F Brosnan
- Department of Psychology &Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA
| | - Margaret C Crofoot
- 1] Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A. [2] Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama City, Panama
| | | | - Claudia Fichtel
- 1] Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany [2] Courant Research Centre "Evolution of Social Behaviour", University of Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lydia M Hopper
- 1] Department of Psychology &Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA [2] Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA [3] Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
| | - Mary Catherine Mareno
- Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
| | - Odile Petit
- 1] Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France [2] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France [3] Unit of Social Ecology, CP231, Université libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, Bd du triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Anna Viktoria Schnoell
- Courant Research Centre "Evolution of Social Behaviour", University of Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Bernard Thierry
- 1] Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France [2] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France
| | - Barbara Tiddi
- 1] Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Goettingen, Germany [2] Courant Research Centre "Evolution of Social Behaviour", University of Göttingen, Germany
| | - Cédric Sueur
- 1] Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France [2] Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Strasbourg, France [3] Unit of Social Ecology, CP231, Université libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, Bd du triomphe, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Claidière N, Bowler M, Brookes S, Brown R, Whiten A. Frequency of behavior witnessed and conformity in an everyday social context. PLoS One 2014; 9:e99874. [PMID: 24950212 PMCID: PMC4064983 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2014] [Accepted: 05/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Conformity is thought to be an important force in human evolution because it has the potential to stabilize cultural homogeneity within groups and cultural diversity between groups. However, the effects of such conformity on cultural and biological evolution will depend much on the particular way in which individuals are influenced by the frequency of alternative behavioral options they witness. In a previous study we found that in a natural situation people displayed a tendency to be ‘linear-conformist’. When visitors to a Zoo exhibit were invited to write or draw answers to questions on cards to win a small prize and we manipulated the proportion of text versus drawings on display, we found a strong and significant effect of the proportion of text displayed on the proportion of text in the answers, a conformist effect that was largely linear with a small non-linear component. However, although this overall effect is important to understand cultural evolution, it might mask a greater diversity of behavioral responses shaped by variables such as age, sex, social environment and attention of the participants. Accordingly we performed a further study explicitly to analyze the effects of these variables, together with the quality of the information participants' responses made available to further visitors. Results again showed a largely linear conformity effect that varied little with the variables analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Aix Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7290, Marseille, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Mark Bowler
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
- San Diego Zoo Global, Institute for Conservation Research, Iquitos, Peru
| | - Sarah Brookes
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca Brown
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Darwin-inspired population thinking suggests approaching culture as a population of items of different types, whose relative frequencies may change over time. Three nested subtypes of populational models can be distinguished: evolutionary, selectional and replicative. Substantial progress has been made in the study of cultural evolution by modelling it within the selectional frame. This progress has involved idealizing away from phenomena that may be critical to an adequate understanding of culture and cultural evolution, particularly the constructive aspect of the mechanisms of cultural transmission. Taking these aspects into account, we describe cultural evolution in terms of cultural attraction, which is populational and evolutionary, but only selectional under certain circumstances. As such, in order to model cultural evolution, we must not simply adjust existing replicative or selectional models but we should rather generalize them, so that, just as replicator-based selection is one form that Darwinian selection can take, selection itself is one of several different forms that attraction can take. We present an elementary formalization of the idea of cultural attraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- CNRS, Fédération de recherche 3C, Laboratoire de psychologie cognitive, Université d'Aix – Marseille, 3 Place Victor Hugo, Bât. 9, Case D, 13331 Marseille cedex, France
| | - Thomas C. Scott-Phillips
- Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group, Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Dan Sperber
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Nador u. 9, 1051 Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Philosophy, Central European University, Nador u. 9, 1051 Budapest, Hungary
- Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS, EHESS, ENS), 29 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
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Claidière N, Messer EJE, Hoppitt W, Whiten A. Diffusion dynamics of socially learned foraging techniques in squirrel monkeys. Curr Biol 2013; 23:1251-5. [PMID: 23810529 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Revised: 05/17/2013] [Accepted: 05/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Social network analyses and experimental studies of social learning have each become important domains of animal behavior research in recent years yet have remained largely separate. Here we bring them together, providing the first demonstration of how social networks may shape the diffusion of socially learned foraging techniques. One technique for opening an artificial fruit was seeded in the dominant male of a group of squirrel monkeys and an alternative technique in the dominant male of a second group. We show that the two techniques spread preferentially in the groups in which they were initially seeded and that this process was influenced by monkeys' association patterns. Eigenvector centrality predicted both the speed with which an individual would first succeed in opening the artificial fruit and the probability that they would acquire the cultural variant seeded in their group. These findings demonstrate a positive role of social networks in determining how a new foraging technique diffuses through a population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK
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van de Waal E, Claidière N, Whiten A. Social learning and spread of alternative means of opening an artificial fruit in four groups of vervet monkeys. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Claidière N, Bowler M, Whiten A. Evidence for weak or linear conformity but not for hyper-conformity in an everyday social learning context. PLoS One 2012; 7:e30970. [PMID: 22363524 PMCID: PMC3282703 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2011] [Accepted: 12/30/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Conformity is thought to be an important force in cultural evolution because it has the potential to stabilize cooperation in large groups, potentiate group selection and thus explain uniquely human behaviors. However, the effects of such conformity on cultural and biological evolution will depend much on the way individuals are influenced by the frequency of alternative behavioral options witnessed. Theoretical modeling has suggested that only what we refer to as ‘hyper-conformity’, an exaggerated tendency to perform the most frequent behavior witnessed in other individuals, is able to increase within-group homogeneity and between-group diversity, for instance. Empirically however, few experiments have addressed how the frequency of behavior witnessed affects behavior. Accordingly we performed an experiment to test for the presence of conformity in a natural situation with humans. Visitors to a Zoo exhibit were invited to write or draw answers to questions on A5 cards and potentially win a small prize. We manipulated the proportion of existing writings versus drawings visible to visitors and measured the proportion of written cards submitted. We found a strong and significant effect of the proportion of text displayed on the proportion of text in the answers, thus demonstrating social learning. We show that this effect is approximately linear, with potentially a small, weak-conformist component but no hyper-conformist one. The present experiment therefore provides evidence for linear conformity in humans in a very natural context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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Abstract
Conformity--defined here by the fact that an individual displays a particular behavior because it is the most frequent the individual witnessed in others--has long been recognized by social psychologists as one of the main categories of social influence. Surprisingly, it is only recently that conformity has become an active topic in animal and comparative biology. As in any new and rapidly growing field, however, definitions, hypotheses, and protocols are diverse, not easy to organize in a coherent way, and sometimes seriously in conflict with one another. Here we pursue greater coherence by reviewing the newer literature on conformity in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology in light of the foundational work in social psychology. We suggest that the knowledge accumulated in social psychology can be exploited by behavioral ecologists and evolutionary biologists to bring conceptual clarity to the field, avoid some experimental pitfalls, and help design new and challenging experiments. In particular, we propose that the notions of informational and normative conformity that, until now, have been little recognized in recent literature can resolve some important controversies. In turn, research on animal culture should be of great interest to social scientists, because understanding human culture and human uniqueness requires an evolutionary analysis of our cognitive capacities and their evolutionary origins. Our review suggests excellent opportunities for social and natural scientists to join forces in building an interdisciplinary and integrative approach to the pervasive phenomenon of conformity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK.
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Claidière N, Sperber D. The natural selection of fidelity in social learning. Commun Integr Biol 2011; 3:350-1. [PMID: 20798823 DOI: 10.4161/cib.3.4.11829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2010] [Accepted: 03/14/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning mechanisms are usually assumed to explain both the spread and the persistence of cultural behavior. In a recent article, we showed that the fidelity of social learning commonly found in transmission chain experiments is not high enough to explain cultural stability. Here we want to both enrich and qualify this conclusion by looking at the case of song transmission in song birds, which can be faithful to the point of being true replication. We argue that this high fidelity results from natural selection pressure on cognitive mechanisms. This observation strengthens our main argument. Social learning mechanisms are unlikely to be faithful enough to explain cultural stability because they are generally selected not for high fidelity but for generalization and adjustment to the individual's needs, capacities and situation.
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Abstract
For acquired behaviour to count as cultural, two conditions must be met: it must propagate in a social group, and it must remain stable across generations in the process of propagation. It is commonly assumed that imitation is the mechanism that explains both the spread of animal culture and its stability. We review the literature on transmission chain studies in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and other animals, and we use a formal model to argue that imitation, which may well play a major role in the propagation of animal culture, cannot be considered faithful enough to explain its stability. We consider the contribution that other psychological and ecological factors might make to the stability of animal culture observed in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Institut Jean Nicod, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France.
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Claidière N, Jraissati Y, Chevallier C. A Colour Sorting Task Reveals the Limits of the Universalist/Relativist Dichotomy: Colour Categories Can Be Both Language Specific and Perceptual. J Cogn Cult 2008. [DOI: 10.1163/156853708x358155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
AbstractWe designed a new protocol requiring French adult participants to group a
large number of Munsell colour chips into three or four groups. On one,
relativist, view, participants would be expected to rely on their colour
lexicon in such a task. In this framework, the resulting groups should be
more similar to French colour categories than to other languages categories.
On another, universalist, view, participants would be expected to rely on
universal features of perception. In this second framework, the resulting
groups should match colour categories of three and four basic terms
languages. In this work, we first collected data to build an accurate map of
French colour terms categories (Experiment 1). We went on testing how native
French speakers spontaneously sorted a set of randomly presented coloured
chips and, in line with the relativist prediction, we found that the
resulting colour groups were more similar to French colour categories than
to three and four basic terms languages (Experiment 2). However, the same
results were obtained in a verbal interference condition (Experiment 3),
suggesting that participants rely on language specific and nevertheless
perceptual, colour categories. Collectively, these results suggest that the
universalist/relativist dichotomy is a too narrow one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Claidière
- 1Institut Jean Nicod, Pavillon Jardin – Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Yasmina Jraissati
- 1Institut Jean Nicod, Pavillon Jardin – Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Coralie Chevallier
- 1Institut Jean Nicod, Pavillon Jardin – Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
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Abstract
AbstractHenrich and Boyd (2002) were the first to propose a formal model of the role of attraction in cultural evolution. They came to the surprising conclusion that, when both attraction and selection are at work, final outcomes are determined by selection alone. This result is based on a determistic view of cultural attraction, different from the probabilistic view introduced in Sperber (1996). We defend this probabilistic view, show how to model it, and argue that, when both attraction and selection are at work, both affect final outcomes.
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