PSYC 307 Lecture 6 The evolution of culture (cont) -children able to engage in self-regulation through intersubjective dialogues -inner monologue -explicit instructions are received and followed by self-regulation Last stage of ToM -6-7 years of age -understand people as reflective agents -able to think what people are thinking -start of elementary school -engage in drama with each other -mentalizing about how other are mentalizing -start thinking about hypothetical other -not restricted to concrete others -collaborative learning -- requires transactive discussions -- symmetrical discussion -- everyone contributes -- can co create new cultural information -- most important for developing moral reasoning -- each take turns and contribute
Is it culture unique to humans? -if adopting psychological definition- then not unique to humans -humpback whale pods transmit songs horizontally -black rats- forge food- if raised by rats that chew- then they chew -method not engraved in biology -indigo bunting- learn call songs from older males -chimps show cultural transmission -fish out termites through twigs -fish out termites through barks -humans can learn information more rapidly than others -cumulative culture unique to humans -building on existing cultural information Types of learning 1) Individual learning-trial error -learn by selves -find solutions for problem from scratch -when alone- you don't know what works what doesn't 2) Social learning-explicitly taught what to do Your brain and you -as body produces energy, good chunk goes to brain for its functions -our brains are very expensive 2
-cephalization factor -avg body weight and avg brain weight -we can predict based on avg animal body weight, we can think of their avg brain weight -ration b/w actual brain weight/ expected brain weight based on body weight= encephalization quotient -b/w 0-1 lighter than what we'll predict it to be -higher EQs, more social networks, environments, more social the species are, complex social systems -dog brains just a little heavier -cat brains just how much you'll expect them to be -dolphin brains- heavier -human brains 7x heavier -we have highest EQs among mammals -it is not massive- because too much energy to maintain -three hypothesis for brain size difference 1)fruit consumption >idea that fruits grow in patches and fruits become more abundant by seasons >if diet consisted of fruits, we would need to have a mental map of where to find fruits and when >more mental maps, bigger the brain 3