Review. Establishing an experimental science of culture: animal social diffusion experiments.
A growing set of observational studies documenting putative cultural variations in wild animal populations has been complemented by experimental studies that can more rigorously distinguish between social and individual learning. However, these experiments typically examine only what one animal learns from another. Since the spread of culture is inherently a group-level phenomenon, greater validity can be achieved through 'diffusion experiments', in which founder behaviours are experimentally manipulated and their spread across multiple individuals tested. Here we review the existing corpus of 33 such studies in fishes, birds, rodents and primates and offer the first systematic analysis of the diversity of experimental designs that have arisen. We distinguish three main transmission designs and seven different experimental/control approaches, generating an array with 21 possible cells, 15 of which are currently represented by published studies. Most but not all of the adequately controlled diffusion experiments have provided robust evidence for cultural transmission in at least some taxa, with transmission spreading across populations of up to 24 individuals and along chains of up to 14 transmission events. We survey the achievements of this work, its prospects for the future and its relationship to diffusion studies with humans discussed in this theme issue and elsewhere.
Whiten
Andrew
A
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK. a.whiten@st-andrews.ac.uk
Mesoudi
Alex
A
D000818:Animals; D003468:Cultural Evolution; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012919:Social Behavior; D013045:Species Specificity; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology*
Child Dev. 1993 Jun;64(3):897-908
8339702
Anim Cogn. 2003 Dec;6(4):213-23
12898285
Folia Primatol (Basel). 1972;17(3):161-70
5031297
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 12;363(1509):3515-28
18799416
Learn Behav. 2004 Feb;32(1):62-71
15161141
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 12;363(1509):3489-501
18801720
Behav Brain Sci. 2006 Aug;29(4):329-47; discussion 347-83
17094820
Behav Processes. 2007 Jan 10;74(1):13-20
17049751
Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Feb 7;274(1608):367-72
17164200
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 12;363(1509):3541-51
18799417
Anim Behav. 1997 Jun;53(6):1161-9
9236013
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Sep 12;103(37):13878-83
16938863
Nature. 2005 Sep 29;437(7059):737-40
16113685
Nature. 2005 Sep 1;437(7055):52-5
16136127
Science. 1978 Nov 24;202(4370):899-901
17752463
Proc Biol Sci. 2008 Jan 22;275(1631):187-93
17971322
Learn Behav. 2004 Feb;32(1):36-52
15161139
Behav Processes. 1992;27(1):53-64
24896467
Folia Primatol (Basel). 1981;36(3-4):243-63
7319426
J Comp Psychol. 2001 Jun;115(2):201-11
11459168
Anim Behav. 2000 Aug;60(2):175-180
10973718
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2007 Apr 29;362(1480):603-20
17255007
Curr Biol. 2007 Jun 19;17(12):1038-43
17555968
Anim Behav. 1998 Nov;56(5):1063-1073
9819320
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Nov 12;363(1509):3529-39
18799419
Primates. 2004 Apr;45(2):113-8
15095043
J Abnorm Soc Psychol. 1961 May;62:649-58
14450695