Fragaszy Dorothy M, Eshchar Yonat, Visalberghi Elisabetta, Resende Briseida, Laity Kellie, Izar Patrícia
Psychology Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602;
Psychology Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jul 25;114(30):7798-7805. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1621071114. Epub 2017 Jul 24.
Culture extends biology in that the setting of development shapes the traditions that individuals learn, and over time, traditions evolve as occasional variations are learned by others. In humans, interactions with others impact the development of cognitive processes, such as sustained attention, that shape how individuals learn as well as what they learn. Thus, learning itself is impacted by culture. Here, we explore how social partners might shape the development of psychological processes impacting learning a tradition. We studied bearded capuchin monkeys learning a traditional tool-using skill, cracking nuts using stone hammers. Young monkeys practice components of cracking nuts with stones for years before achieving proficiency. We examined the time course of young monkeys' activity with nuts before, during, and following others' cracking nuts. Results demonstrate that the onset of others' cracking nuts immediately prompts young monkeys to start handling and percussing nuts, and they continue these activities while others are cracking. When others stop cracking nuts, young monkeys sustain the uncommon actions of percussing and striking nuts for shorter periods than the more common actions of handling nuts. We conclude that nut-cracking by adults can promote the development of sustained attention for the critical but less common actions that young monkeys must practice to learn this traditional skill. This work suggests that in nonhuman species, as in humans, socially specified settings of development impact learning processes as well as learning outcomes. Nonhumans, like humans, may be culturally variable learners.
文化扩展了生物学意义，因为发展环境塑造了个体所学习的传统，并且随着时间的推移，传统会随着其他人偶尔学到的变化而演变。在人类中，与他人的互动会影响认知过程的发展，比如持续注意力，而持续注意力会塑造个体学习的方式以及学习的内容。因此，学习本身也会受到文化的影响。在这里，我们探讨社会伙伴如何塑造影响传统学习的心理过程的发展。我们研究了卷尾猴学习一种传统的工具使用技能，即用石锤敲开坚果。幼猴在熟练掌握这项技能之前，需要花费数年时间练习用石头敲开坚果的各个环节。我们观察了幼猴在其他猴子敲坚果之前、期间和之后与坚果互动的时间进程。结果表明，其他猴子开始敲坚果会立即促使幼猴开始处理和敲击坚果，并且在其他猴子敲坚果时它们会继续这些活动。当其他猴子停止敲坚果时，幼猴敲击坚果这种不常见行为的持续时间比处理坚果这种更常见行为的持续时间短。我们得出结论，成年猴子敲坚果的行为可以促进幼猴对持续注意力的发展，而持续注意力对于幼猴学习这项传统技能所必须练习的关键但不太常见的行为很重要。这项研究表明，在非人类物种中，如同在人类中一样，社会特定的发展环境会影响学习过程以及学习结果。非人类和人类一样，可能是具有文化差异的学习者。
