title: Born Pupils? Natural Pedagogy and Cultural Pedagogy.
abstract: The theory of natural pedagogy is an important focus of research on the evolution and development of cultural learning. It proposes that we are born pupils; that human children genetically inherit a package of psychological adaptations that make them receptive to teaching. In this article, I first examine the components of the package-eye contact, contingencies, infant-directed speech, gaze cuing, and rational imitation-asking in each case whether current evidence indicates that the component is a reliable feature of infant behavior and a genetic adaptation for teaching. I then discuss three fundamental insights embodied in the theory: Imitation is not enough for cumulative cultural inheritance, the extra comes from blind trust, and tweaking is a powerful source of cognitive change. Combining the results of the empirical review with these insights, I argue that human receptivity to teaching is founded on nonspecific genetic adaptations for social bonding and social learning and acquires its species- and functionally specific features through the operation of domain-general processes of learning in sociocultural contexts. We engage, not in natural pedagogy, but in cultural pedagogy.
authors.affiliation: All Souls College and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford cecilia.heyes@all-souls.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Heyes
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D003469:Culture; D005133:Eye Movements; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007223:Infant; D007858:Learning; D008960:Models, Psychological; D013334:Students
keywords: cultural evolution; evolution of cognition; imitation; infant development; pedagogy; teaching