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Social learning mechanisms of cultural evolution

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TitleInfo
Title
Social learning mechanisms of cultural evolution
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Wasielewski
NamePart (type = given)
Helen Charlotte
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Helen Wasielewski
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author
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Lee
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Lee Cronk
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Advisory Committee
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chair
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Palombit
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Ryne
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Ryne Palombit
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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Cachel
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Susan
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Susan Cachel
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Scott
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Robert S
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Robert S Scott
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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Mesoudi
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Alex
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Alex Mesoudi
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Advisory Committee
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outside member
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Rutgers University
Role
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degree grantor
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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Text
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theses
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DateCreated (qualifier = exact)
2012
DateOther (qualifier = exact); (type = degree)
2012-10
Place
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xx
Language
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eng
Abstract (type = abstract)
Human cultural traditions are accumulated bodies of knowledge that have been built over time through innovation coupled with social learning. An evolutionary approach to culture examines culture traits as aspects of an organism’s phenotype that are inherited through social learning processes. This dissertation applies theory from the literature on cultural evolution to understand mechanisms and strategies of this learning process in humans, and consists of three projects from data generated by two studies. For both studies, I used a novel experimental task: participants were asked to build weight-bearing devices from a length of weaving reed and a portion of modeling clay. In the first project, using an experimental microsociety design, I tested the hypothesis that imitation is required for cultural accumulation. By manipulating visual access to behavior, I found evidence of cultural accumulation only when participants were able to view others building devices. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that imitation is required for cumulative cultural evolution. In the second project, I tested the hypothesis that learners are able to infer the success of models by using model-based biases. I found that participants were more likely to copy the device designs of others who had performed well, than they were to copy device designs of those who had performed poorly. This difference held only in conditions in which participants could witness others building devices, as predicted by the use of model-based biases such as skill bias. In the third project, I tested participants’ flexibility in the use of asocial and social information, in order to understand the contribution of individual learning constraints to cultural evolution at a population level. Participants built weight-bearing devices in three phases: an asocial learning phase, and two social learning phases. I measured both the performance of the weight-bearing devices and the use of social information. My results indicate that participants adjusted the degree to which they copied others relative to changes in their performance between the asocial and social phases. These data suggest that cultural evolution may rely on learners who are flexible, rather than fixed, in their learning strategies.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Anthropology
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Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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ETD
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ETD_4327
PhysicalDescription
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electronic resource
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
ix, 141 p. : ill.
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Helen Charlotte Wasielewski
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Social learning
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Social evolution
Identifier (type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000067014
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
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Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3ZC81NJ
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights

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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Name
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Wasielewski
GivenName
Helen
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RightsEvent
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Permission or license
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = start)
2012-09-29 15:59:08
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Helen Wasielewski
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Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
RightsEvent
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = start)
2012-10-31
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = end)
2013-10-31
Type
Embargo
Detail
Access to this PDF has been restricted at the author's request. It will be publicly available after October 31st, 2013.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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