Cultural Transmission Michael Tomasello

963 Words2 Pages

Michael Tomasello’s article Cultural Transmission: A View from Chimpanzees and Human
Infants compares and contrasts the learning mechanisms observed in primates and differentiates
humans’ unique adaptations that allow for a unique cultural evolution. Tomasello explains the
adaptive mechanisms that allow humans to learn language, skills, and other activities that are
important in one’s culture.
Tomasello uses the image of a ratchet to illustrate humans’ cognitive capabilities and the
unique cultural evolution observed in humans. A ratchet secures and anchors an object and
moves it in a direction. The cultural evolution of humans is exhibited by the process of imitative
learning. Tomasello (2001) states that throughout generations, actions and …show more content…

Therefore, the ratchet anchors the strategies
and actions into ones’ culture and maintains this throughout time while it is slightly modified.
Humans exhibit the ratchet effect through the process of cultural learning, they “learn from
conspecifics perceiving their goals and then attempting to reproduce the strategies the other
person uses in order to achieve the goal” (Tomasello, 2001, p.137). In contrast, non-human
primates, like chimpanzees, exhibit social learning, which does not result in “cumulative cultural
evolution” (137). Humans are able to “pool their cognitive resources” through this adaptation
and form of learning.
Humans and non-human primates both have strong cognitive capacities. Both are capable of
forming social traditions and maintaining these traditions throughout generations in their culture.
Social relationships are important in each primates’ culture. Primates have strong, close parental
bonds beginning at birth and also maintain close social groups throughout adulthood. Yet,
humans are the only primates whose behaviors reflect cumulative cultural evolution …show more content…

This important adaptation allows for effective learning to occur and move,
moving and modifying strategies. Therefore, humans are able to exhibit the ratchet effect due to
their unique joint attention and imitative learning capabilities. (Tomasello, 2001). Overall,
chimpanzees are able to spread general behaviors but they are unable to share and maintain
specific behaviors and strategies throughout their culture like humans.
The vital adaptation in humans that enables cultural learning to occur and thus allows for the
cultural evolution unique in humans is one’s ability to “understand other persons as intentional
agents like self” (Tomasello, 1995 as cited in Tomasello 2001, p. 140). According to Tomasello
(2001), while infants explore objects around six months of age, when they reach nine to twelve
months of age they are then able to participate in “triadic interactions”. These interactions
involve sharing attention between the “child, adult, and some outside entity” (Tomasello, 2001,
p.139). This adaptation around one year of age allows the individual to learn important skills

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