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
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social skills are learned and modified. The initial creation of a strategy or act is anchored into one’s cultural tradition, and is secured by the ratchet. Tomasello equivocates the process of imitative learning as a “ratchet” which keeps “the practice in place on the social group…until some creative innovation comes along (Tomasello, 2001, p.137).
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
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(Tomasello, 2 2001). Other non-human primates, like chimpanzees for example, have the ability to learn by observing others, but this differs from humans. Chimpanzees exhibit “emulation learning” and are able to “ritualize signals with group mates during repeated encounters” but they do not learn through imitation learning as humans do (Tomasello, 2001, p.136). Humans have shown evolution in culture over time due to their ability understand other individual’s specific intentions and goals in an action or instance just as they have their own intentions when completing an act.
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
and activities including language. In order for cultural learning to occur infants must identify intentional agents. Intentional agents are those who set goals and tailor their behavior in order to reach these goals. Therefore, when infants are able to identify one’s goals and selectively chose their attention they are able to engage in more complex interactions that lead to cultural learning. Cultural learning is vital to human learning because it allows for cultural evolution unique to the human species. When infants begin to engage with others at around 9 to 12 months of age, they are able to complete joint attention tasks involving interacting and paying attention to the adult and outside factor while also taking into account oneself, forming “triadic interactions”. Tomasello and Barton (1994) studied older infants’ behaviors using a finding game. The adult told the infant that she was trying to “find the toma”. The adult smiled when she found the object and it some trials it would take longer to find the object. She she exhibited angry facial expressions when when picking up unwanted objects. Through this process the children were able to associate the word with the object she was looking for in all circumstances, no matter 3 how many objects were rejected in the situation (as cited in Tomasello, 2001). This observed behavior depicts the child learning language through the “triadic interaction”. In this situation, the child learned the word “toma” through social interactions. Thus, children are able to learn language through interactions and observations of speech. In another study done by Tomasello and Barton (1994) the adult told the infant she planned to “dax Mickey Mouse”. She then exhibited an intentional and non-intentional action on the doll. The children were able to learn the word for the intentional action through this social interaction (as cited in Tomasello, 2001, p. 141). This example again illustrates one’s ability to learn words and expand their language through joint attention and imitative learning that they develop in late infancy. It is evident that human culture is constantly evolving. Humans unique ability to learn though engaging in social interactions and understanding the motives and process of actions allows for continuous learning and building off of foundational strategies. While all primates have strong social capacities, human beings’ adaptations that allow for social interactive learning differentiates their learning and cultural evolution from the animal kingdom.
To start, research shows that there are a striking number of similarities between humans and chimpanzees in context to their social behavior.
Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event.
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
When a culture is transmitted from one generation to another, we call it enculturation. This is a process by which you learn the ...
It is our cultural heritage that determines how we interact with different people. Cultural heritage is learned through the techniques of our parents, peer groups, schools, religious institutions, government agencies, media, and/or the village community. This learning process also guides the way we speak, how we dress, our lifestyle, food, value system, beliefs, artifacts, and the environment in which we live in. In essence, cultural heritage reflects ones language, ones ways of thinking, art and laws, as well as religion. In addition, learned behavior is defined as being transmitted from one generation to another through the process of enculturation.
Cultural diffusion is the method in which a characteristic or idea spreads from place to place. With diffusion there is always a place of origin, referred to as a hearth or node. Hearths appear when people are willing to try something new and have the necessary resources to do so. There are two types of diffusion: relocation and expansion. Relocation diffusion refers to the spread from one place to another through physical movement such as immigration. Expansion diffusion is the spread from one place to another in an additive process. There are three different categories of expansion diffusion: hierarchical, contagious, and stimulus. Hierarchical diffusion pertains to the spread of ideas through people of power to other people or place. Contagious diffusion is a fast spread from one place to another in a way that the flu is spread, from person to person. Lastly, stimulus diffusion is the spread of a certain concept but not the actual characteristic itself. Hierarchical diffusion is still among the most popular form of diffusion but is slowly being taken
Toddlers are the epitome of curiosity and energy. From ages 1 – 3, toddlers are always on the go and want to learn about everything in their world. As with infants, no two are alike; each toddler is unique in his or her developmental stages, and each accomplishes milestones at different times. “Although children develop at different rates, there are common stages of development that serve as guidelines for what most children can do by a certain age” (Groark, McCarthy & Kirk, 2014). As seen in the hatfieldmomof3 (2011) video, one observes toddlers at play and can determine the age of the toddlers by their actions and the milestones they have accomplished.
Thus, all infants at this particular stage get involved or attempt to involve themselves with learning all about the new environment around them. This preliminary stage has a solid bond with environmental stimuli. The various situations/things that infants experience during this time has a powerful influence on his/her growth, both mental and physical, which carries out throughout his/her entire life.
Culture as described by Brislin [1], as the totality of learned behaviors of people that emerges from their interpersonal interactions.
Over the years, culture shaped many features of our biological makeup. In turn, biology influenced culture. Because of this, humans are the outcome of everlasting interactions between culture and biology. These interactions are known as biocultural evolution. The study of human evolution involves many scientific disciplines including physical anthropology. Physical anthropology focuses on the interactions between culture and biology which shapes the way we live and interact. Modern humans have different characteristics of physical traits and behaviors. This allows modern humans to interact with each other in di...
It is common in monkeys, apes and humans that behavior and social organization aren’t necessarily programmed into the genes. There have been several cases where an entire troop has learned from the experiences of just a few. In a group of Japanese macaques, for example, a three-year-old female female developed the habit of washing dirt of of sweet potatoes before she ate them. First her mother, and then peers and then the entire troop started washing their potatoes too. Another macaque troop has a similar experience when a group of dominant males learned to eat wheat. Within an hour, the practice had spread throughout the entire group. Changes in learned behavior seem to spread more quickly from the top down than from the bottom up.
Sensorimotor stage (birth – 2 years old) – Children begin to make sense of the world around them based on their interaction with their physical environment. Reality begins to be defined.
In Clyde Kluckhohn's passage, adapted from his book, Mirror for Man, we are given an illumination of anthropology on the concept of culture. He explains that culture is not only derived by "the way we are brought up," but also personal past experiences and the biological properties of the people concerned. As humans we have learned to adapt to our own personal surroundings and have conditioned ourselves and our life styles to revolve around such surroundings by the most comfortable means possible.
In an effort to understand childhood and adulthood, or even other aspects of man’s life, a lot of aspects, tools and methods can be used. Amongst these are cultural institutions which form core aspects throughout someone’s life either consciously or unconsciously. These are usually elements within a culture which are supposed to be imperative or are customarily valued by the members as their identity (Cicchetti & Cohen, 1995).
The ability for children to discover is innate. From birth children discover all sorts of different things about the world around them. It has even been said that "babies are as good at discovery as the smartest adult" (Gopnik, 2005). Discovering is the natural way that children learn. By interacting with the world around them, they ar...