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Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology

January 23

Lecture 6

A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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1. What cognitive skills enable cultural transmission among humans?

Cultural Transmission

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

1. compare the complexity of cultural transmission among human and non-human species.

2. review the stages of Tomasello’s Theory of Cultural Learning.

4. define the terms emulative learning, imitative learning, and instructed learning.

3. define the terms intentional agent and mental agent.

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What cognitive skills enable cultural transmission among humans?

● Although there are examples of cultural learning among nonhuman species, humans appear to be the only species capable of complex cultural transmission.

● Tomasello and his colleagues (1993, 1999, 2003) attribute the complexity of cultural transmission among humans to our unique cognitive skills.

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● Tomasello et al. argue that, in contrast to other species, humans have “theory of mind”: the ability to

understand others’ perspectives.

● Theory of mind emerges in infancy and develops across childhood:

● According to Tomasello’s Theory of Cultural Learning, theory of mind enables humans to engage in unique, species-specific forms of learning.

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1. Birth – 9 Months of Age

At 3 to 4 months of age, infants begin to show an interest in objects. However, up to 9 months, they do not have theory of mind.

Thus, at this age, infants are restricted to emulative learning.

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E.g., An infant observes an adult open a jar and learns that “the object can be opened.” With this knowledge, the infant sets out to devise her own strategy for opening the jar.

Emulative learning is the primary means by which nonhuman primates learn about their environments from their conspecifics.

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2. 9 Months – 4 Years of Age

Infants begin to recognize others as intentional agents.

Thus, theory of mind emerges.

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E.g., Tomasello and Haberl (2002) found that 12- and 18-month infants could accurately predict

which of several objects was desired by an adult, even though the adult had not identified the object.

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Consistent with this change in cognition, children begin to look where adults look (gaze following) and direct adult attention to objects (joint attentional

interactions).

Given this change in cognition, children acquire the ability to engage in imitative learning.

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E.g., A 2-year-old child observes an adult open a jar and learns that “the object can be opened if I firmly twist on the lid with my hand.” With this knowledge, the infant turns the lid with her hand and opens the jar.

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Thus, imitative learning allows for cultural transmission: Through the observation of models, children learn the goal-directed behavioural strategies

or collective practices that are associated with an object. That is, children learn that “this is the way ‘we’ use [the] object; this is the way it ‘should’ be used; this is its ‘function’ for us” (Tomasello &

Rakoczy, 2003, p. 127).

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Imitative learning is most likely to occur when:

the demonstrator’s behaviour has been rewarded.

the demonstrator is warm and nurturing, similar to the observer, and prestigious.

the situation is unfamiliar or ambiguous.

the observer has been rewarded for imitating others in the past.

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E.g., Wimmer and Perner (1983) found that 4- to 6-year-old children could predict where another child would look for a toy that had been “secretly” moved as part of a “location change” or “false-belief” task.

3. 4 – 6 Years of Age

Children begin to recognize others as mental agents.

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Consistent with this change in cognition, children begin to refer to the mental states of others (e.g., “He thinks that ….”) and participate in deceptive acts.

Given this change in cognition, children acquire the ability to engage in instructed learning.

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E.g., A 5-year-old child receives explicit instructions from his mother with respect to how to behave while dining at a restaurant. The child internalizes the instructions and uses them to regulate his behaviour while dining at a restaurant with his family the following week.

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Thus, instructed learning allows for cultural transmission: Through explicit instruction, children learn how to regulate their behaviour in accordance

with collective practices when they confront a specific task. That is, children learn that “this is the

way ‘we’ behave when we confront this task.”

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

1. compare the complexity of cultural transmission among human and non-human species.

2. review the stages of Tomasello’s Theory of Cultural Learning.

4. define the terms emulative learning, imitative learning, and instructed learning.

3. define the terms intentional agent and mental agent.