Nonhuman Primate Social Study

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Culture within animals has been observed in primate species. Social learning is the mechanism is in which cultural transmission may occur. With this, this paper evaluates the capability of learning within nonhuman primates, when to learn and from whom to learn from. Discussing the way social learning occurs extends onto a connection between the intelligence and capability to learn within both species and the power natural selection has for selecting individuals with superior abilities to learn. It is known that humans and nonhuman primates share a common ancestor and social learning within these species can be seen as another link between the two species. Social learning was determined to be beneficial for both species, regardless whether …show more content…

Whether culture and the ability to learn is unique to humans is debatable. Whiten defines culture to be a system where behavioral conformity is spread non-genetically; including the process of social learning (2000). Prior to discussing culture, it is important to discuss social learning. Learning is defined as the relevantly permeant change in behavior because of an experience (Dugatkin, 2013). For the process of natural selection to operate, there needs to be a set mechanism that allows the spread of information from generation to generation. Cultural transmission in nonhuman primates and humans is where social learning allows the passage of information to be transferred from one individual to another between or within generations (Dugatkin, …show more content…

Focusing on the capability of learning, humans and nonhuman primates can provide another important piece of evidence for the link between the ancestor the two species share. If the ability to learn has been selected for in the process of natural selection, then it is possible to conclude a similarity between the species and emphasize the importance of a species’ learning ability for their ultimate success.
II. What is social learning?
The simplest definition would be a form learning where one would observe another. Within social learning, one individual holds the title of the instructor or teacher and the other individual is the recipient or the student (Dugatkin, 2013). The literature on social learning generally focuses on imitation and emulation.
a. Imitation and

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