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Cultural transmission in the laboratory: agent interaction improves the intergenerational transfer of information

Authors :
Rachael Tan
Nicolas Fay
Source :
Evolution and Human Behavior. 32:399-406
Publication Year :
2011
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2011.

Abstract

Cumulative cultural evolution requires that information is faithfully transmitted from generation to generation. The present study examines the role of agent interaction as a social learning mechanism through which information is transmitted across multiple generations. The performance of two types of linear transmission chains was compared: noninteractive (agents in adjacent chain positions were not permitted to interact) and interactive (adjacent agents freely interacted with one another). In both conditions, information (details of a narrative text) was lost as it was passed along the transmission chain. However, interactive transmission chains promoted more accurate recall of information than noninteractive chains. A content analysis revealed that most listeners actively participated in the information transfer process by seeking clarification and providing backchannel feedback to the narrator. Furthermore, the extent to which listeners engaged with the narrator was associated with narrator recall accuracy. Our results indicate that bidirectional agent interaction is an important consideration for studies of cultural transmission and cumulative cultural evolution.

Details

ISSN :
10905138
Volume :
32
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Evolution and Human Behavior
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........af28cb76cb699bf49bc1b3db597acae9
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.01.001