Department of Psychology, University of British ColumbiaInstitut Jean Nicod, CNRS, Paris and Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Cogn Sci. 2006 May 6;30(3):531-53. doi: 10.1207/s15516709cog0000_68.
We hypothesize that cultural narratives such as myths and folktales are more likely to achieve cultural stability if they correspond to a minimally counterintuitive (MCI) cognitive template that includes mostly intuitive concepts combined with a minority of counterintuitive ones. Two studies tested this hypothesis, examining whether this template produces a memory advantage, and whether this memory advantage explains the cultural success of folktales. In a controlled laboratory setting, Study 1 found that an MCI template produces a memory advantage after a 1-week delay, relative to entirely intuitive or maximally counterintuitive cognitive templates. Using archival methods, Study 2 examined the cognitive structure of Grimm Brothers folktales. Compared to culturally unsuccessful folktales, those that were demonstrably successful were especially likely to fit an MCI template. These findings highlight the role of human memory processes in cultural evolution.
我们假设，如果文化叙事（如神话和民间故事）符合一种最小反直觉（MCI）认知模板，其中包含大多数直观的概念和少数反直觉的概念，那么它们更有可能实现文化稳定性。两项研究检验了这一假设，考察了这种模板是否会产生记忆优势，以及这种记忆优势是否解释了民间故事的文化成功。在一个受控的实验室环境中，研究 1 发现，与完全直观或最大反直觉的认知模板相比，MCI 模板在 1 周的延迟后会产生记忆优势。通过使用档案方法，研究 2 考察了格林兄弟民间故事的认知结构。与文化上不成功的民间故事相比，那些明显成功的民间故事更符合 MCI 模板。这些发现强调了人类记忆过程在文化进化中的作用。
