Psychology 3228 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Dual Inheritance Theory, Memetics, Alcohol Dehydrogenase

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 3228
• Professor: Scott Mac Dougall- Shackleton

Document Summary

In merely 10,000 years we have moved from stone-age hunter-gatherers to the technological information age. This is remarkable change due primarily to cultural evolution, not biological evolution. No culture is part of human nature. Culture of super-organism: much study of culture focused on cultural differences. Argued that culture was super organic and a force that could shape human behaviour. May reflect human predispositions based on genetic inheritance. Idea diffusion or constrained design space may explain cultural universals. Idea diffusion a great way of doing something is discovered and then spreads. Constrained design space only a certain amount of ways to do things (wheel to move things) Evoked culture or evoked culture e. g. language parameters. May result from cultural relativism (transmitted culture) music you grew of listening to. E. g. high risk environments may lead to development of shorter term mating strategies. Phenotypes exhibit reaction norms, produce different cultural norms in different environments. Ideas (cultural evolution) can be transmitted much more rapidly.