Haun Daniel B M, Rapold Christian J, Call Josep, Janzen Gabriele, Levinson Stephen C
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, PO Box 310, 6500 AH, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Nov 14;103(46):17568-73. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0607999103. Epub 2006 Nov 1.
Current approaches to human cognition often take a strong nativist stance based on Western adult performance, backed up where possible by neonate and infant research and almost never by comparative research across the Hominidae. Recent research suggests considerable cross-cultural differences in cognitive strategies, including relational thinking, a domain where infant research is impossible because of lack of cognitive maturation. Here, we apply the same paradigm across children and adults of different cultures and across all nonhuman great ape genera. We find that both child and adult spatial cognition systematically varies with language and culture but that, nevertheless, there is a clear inherited bias for one spatial strategy in the great apes. It is reasonable to conclude, we argue, that language and culture mask the native tendencies in our species. This cladistic approach suggests that the correct perspective on human cognition is neither nativist uniformitarian nor "blank slate" but recognizes the powerful impact that language and culture can have on our shared primate cognitive biases.
当前对人类认知的研究方法往往基于西方成年人的表现采取强烈的先天论立场，如有可能会得到新生儿和婴儿研究的支持，但几乎从未有过跨人科动物的比较研究。最近的研究表明，认知策略存在相当大的跨文化差异，包括关系思维，由于缺乏认知成熟度，婴儿研究无法涉及这一领域。在这里，我们将相同的范式应用于不同文化背景的儿童和成年人以及所有非人类的大猩猩属。我们发现，儿童和成人的空间认知都随语言和文化而系统地变化，但尽管如此，大猩猩在一种空间策略上存在明显的遗传倾向。我们认为，有理由得出这样的结论：语言和文化掩盖了我们这个物种的先天倾向。这种分支分类法表明，对人类认知的正确观点既不是先天论的统一论，也不是“白板说”，而是认识到语言和文化对我们共有的灵长类认知偏见可能产生的强大影响。
