Social Learning In Animals: The Roots of Culture
Language: English
Pages: 411
ISBN: 0122739655
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The increasing realization among behaviorists and psychologists is that many animals learn by observation as members of social systems. Such settings contribute to the formation of culture. This book combines the knowledge of two groups of scientists with different backgrounds to establish a working consensus for future research. The book is divided into two major sections, with contributions by a well-known, international, and interdisciplinary team which integrates these growing areas of inquiry.
Key Features
* Integrates the broad range of scientific approaches being used in the studies of social learning and imitation, and society and culture
* Provides an introduction to this field of study as well as a starting point for the more experienced researcher
* Chapters are succinct reviews of innovative discoveries and progress made during the past decade
* Includes statements of varied theoretical perspectives on controversial topics
* Authoritative contributions by an international team of leading researchers
foods; prior to attempts to open nuts). Infants appear to be particularly attracted to others (of all ages) when the others are acting on an object. Whether they do so to obtain information relevant to a current uncertainty must still be determined, but our findings suggest this is unlikely. Adults are oblivious to infants' competence with the food at hand, and do not modify their behavior in any way that would enhance an infant's possibility of acquiring useful information. 76 Dorothy M.
University Press. Boyd, R., & Richerson, P. J. (1985). Culture and the evolutionary process. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Bradbury, J. W., & Andersson, M. B. (Eds). (1987). Sexual selection: Testing the alternatives. New York: Wiley-Interscience. Bradbury, J. W., & Gibson, R. M. (1983). Leks and mate choice. In P. Bateson, (Ed.), Mate choice (pp. 109-138). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bradbury, J. W., Vehrencamp, S. L., & Gibson, R. M. (1985). Leks and the unanimity of
learning in the development of adaptive patterns of food selection by Norway rats. When living in natural circumstances, Norway rats, like other dietary generalists, are faced with a wealth of ingestible items: some of nutritional value, some worthless, and some actually harmful to eat. A weanling rat learning to construct a nutritionally adequate diet while faced with the steady depletion and impending exhaustion of its internal reserves, faces a formidable challenge. Galef and his associates
fitness from selection. In contrast, Laland (1992a) has investigated the effects of a culturally generated change in selection pressures acting on alleles that simply influence the nature of a biological or behavioral trait exposed to this novel selective environment. He found that animal protocultures would have to be atypically stable to elevate rates of genetic change by this means, and that a slowing down in genetic change is more likely. In fact, cultural processes probably act to both
only with peers (that had had the same C H experience in their first year) and females. Thus, we now know why we had not seen the effects of heterospecifics in our earlier studies: not all cowbird populations are equally malleable with respect to species or mate recognition. But thus far, we have found no populational differences in the role of social exposure to female and male conspecifics as necessary for the development of effective courtship skills. As part of these studies of SD and IN