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Imitation, emulation, and the transmission of culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2008

Andrew Whiten
Andrew Whiten
Affiliation:
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom. [email protected]://psy.st-andrews.ac.uk/people/lect/aw2
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Abstract

Three related issues are addressed. First, Hurley treats emulation and imitation as a straightforward dichotomy with emulation emerging first. Recent conceptual analyses and “ghost” chimpanzee experiments challenge this. Second, other recent chimpanzee experiments reveal high-fidelity social transmission, questioning whether copying fidelity is the brake on cumulative culture. Finally, other cognitive processes such as pretence need to be integrated.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 39 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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