Session 13: Social Learning

Primate cognition and an exploration of the existence of primate culture.

1. Key Concepts:

The idea of culture has long fascinated scientists because of the potential for cultural transmission to act as a non-genetic evolutionary process. However, the concept of culture existing in animals other than humans can be viewed by some as controversial because culture is one trait that has been suggested by some to be uniquely human. Thus, evidence of culture in non-human primates could challenge the traditional position of humanity's position in relation to all other animals.

2. Terms & Definitions:

Culture: the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of individuals and transmitted from one generation to another.

3. Culture in Primates:

Do non-human primates have culture? Are there heritable differences in behavior? There are true social behaviors that are transmitted within groups that have no factor influencing fitness. It has been posited that the existence of social behaviors transmitted within groups is an argument for culture. If organisms can engage in behavior that is not attributable to culture or heritable differences in behavior, it suggests there is another level of social context and cognition beyond those that are heritable. It requires, largely, mammalian or avian brains.

Defining Culture:

By definition, is culture human or not? It could be defined as:

The shared schema of humanity.

Thoughts, beliefs, actions of human groups.

Inter-generational behavioral sets that are not limited in emergence from biology, or our genes.

For primates, it has been defined as (Whiten):

Behavior specific to members of a group.

Transmitted via some form of social learning.

However, this definition is more apt for describing social tradition.

Social learning occurs. If neither heritable variation or environmental influence is induced, is it culture? What is culture? If the definition is that which only humans can fit, what’s the point? If we define culture such that it could apply to other groups, what is it? What is the defining trait?

Most anthropologists would argue that human culture involves a lot of symbology.

For example: Bower birds—their nest is not a symbol; it is an honest signal of reproductive quality. The dollar, however, is a symbol and only has the value which we agree it has.

“Culture” and Cognition in primates:

Extra-somatic manipulations have been posited as an indication of cognitive complexity. Tool use is evidence of behavioral complexity. Thus, do the definitions of culture, including the use of tools, favor primates because of hands and brains?

Is Theory of Mind more relevant?

Few things, non-human primates aside, use tools in a preplanned way. Tool use as a measurement of cognition is biased towards primates. Theory of mind focuses on identifying self from non-self in a cognitive way. In other words, “I know I have a mind and a self. And I know you to have that, too.” Do other organisms have theory of mind? Humans have theory of mind, and we should expect some primates evolutionarily close to humans to have some.

Examples of non-human primates & their "cultural" behaviors:

Macaques and potato washing, eye cleaning, and stone handling.
Cebus monkeys and social traditions.
Chimpanzees and stylized differences between groups, multi-tool use.

4. Additional Material:

Required Reading:

Primates in Perspective. 2007. C.J. Campbell, A. Fuentes, K.C. MacKinnon, M. Panger, S.K. Bearder. Oxford University Press.

Chapter 40: Social Learning in Monkeys and Apes: Cultural Animals? - Caldwell and Whiten

Citation: mmacintyre. (2006, November 22). Session 13: Social Learning. Retrieved January 09, 2009, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/anthropology/primate-behavior/session-13-social-learning.