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Lectures 16, 17, 18: Social Learning & Culture Introduction Types and Mechanisms of Social Learning Tool Use Culture deWaal Japanese research Chimp Culture? Dolphin Culture? General thoughts?
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Culture deWaal’s Theory Emory University (Georgia, USA)
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The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections of a Primatologist
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Culture deWaal’s Theory - sushi-making analogy (master and apprentice) - examples of culturally-transmitted behaviours - ‘knowledge and habits acquired from others’ - Japanese animal research… The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections of a Primatologist
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Culture Japanese Research - primatology (Japanese Macaque) - techniques & theories - provisioning, naming - not as much human/animal dualism Japanese Research in Animal Cognition
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Culture Japanese Research Imanishi (1940s, 1950s) - criticized Western views - animal culture If individuals learn from one another, the group’s behaviour might start to become different from other groups, creating a characteristic culture.
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Koshima Island
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Sweet Potato Washing (Imo)
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Culture Japanese Research - Western criticism - now: adoption of concepts and approaches Japanese Research in Animal Cognition
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? - variation in behaviour observed in wild Whiten et al. (1999): Cultures in Chimpanzees (Nature)
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? - variation in behaviour observed in wild - systematic analysis Whiten et al. (1999): Cultures in Chimpanzees (Nature) Andrew Whiten, University of Saint Andrews, UK
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? - List of behaviours that might be cultural variants - characterized 65 candidates - Customary - Habitual - Present - Absent
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? - Example: Ant Dipping - Tai Forest and Ivory Coast: short stick, directly to mouth - Gombe: long stick, swiping action (But nearby Mahale group doesn’t do it)
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? - Criteria for ‘cultural’: - social learners; juveniles observe adults - ecology is not plausible explanation - genetic transmission is not plausible (differences in nearby communities)
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? Horner, Whiten, Flynn, de Waal (2006): “Faithful replication of foraging techniques along cultural transmission chain by chimpanzees and children”
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? Horner, Whiten, Flynn, de Waal (2006)
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Culture Chimpanzee Cultures? Horner, Whiten, Flynn, de Waal (2006) Results: Chimps: High fidelity of transmission - even though without modeling, chimps would discover both options for opening “Chimpanzees have a capacity to sustain local traditions across multiple simulated generations”
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Culture Dolphin Cultures?
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Culture Dolphin Cultures? - sex based to females - only one male ever observed sponging
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Culture Dolphin Cultures? - Not ecology - Transmitted through generations - matriline Krutzen et al. (2005): Cultural Transmission of Tool Use in Bottlenose Dolphins
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Culture Dolphin Cultures? - Not ecology - Transmitted through generations - matriline - Not genetic transmission - would expect more spread - Show good emulation/imitation in captivity Krutzen et al. (2005): Cultural Transmission of Tool Use in Bottlenose Dolphins
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Culture Whale Culture? Garland et al. (2011): Dynamic Horizontal Cultural Transmission of Humpback Whale Song at the Ocean Basin Scale
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Culture Whale Culture? Garland et al. (2011): Dynamic Horizontal Cultural Transmission of Humpback Whale Song at the Ocean Basin Scale -Social learning -Not genetic transmission - spread across genetically diverse populations -Not ecology
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So what can we conclude? - Inclusive definition of culture that reflects continuity between animals and humans? - yet human culture is different
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Culture Human Cultures? Dean et al. (2012): Identification of the Social and Cognitive Processes Underlying Human Culture -Teaching, Language, Imitation, & Prosociality
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Culture Human Cultures?
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Culture Human Cultures? Dean et al. (2012): Identification of the Social and Cognitive Processes Underlying Human Culture -Teaching, Language, Imitation, & Prosociality
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So what can we conclude? - Inclusive definition of culture that reflects continuity between animals and humans? - yet human culture is different - Arguments based on how we see ourselves: it’s a philosophical argument - deWaal: “the perception of animals as cultured is as much a philosophical stance as the denial of animal culture”
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