Experimental approaches to the study of culture in primates

Citation

Caldwell CA (2008) Experimental approaches to the study of culture in primates. In: Roska-Hardy LS & Neumann-Held EM (eds.) Learning from Animals?: Examining the Nature of Human Uniqueness. Hove, East Sussex: Taylor & Francis (Psychology Press UK), pp. 173-187. http://www.psypress.com/9781841697079

Abstract
First paragraph: The topic of culture in nonhumans has received a lot of attention in recent years, and perhaps this is not surprising. The idea that other animals - apes, monkeys, and maybe even rats and fish - may show a semblance of a trait that we consider to be so fundamentally human, is both exciting and controversial. Dialogue between enthusiastic advocates of animal culture on the one hand, and wary sceptics on the other, has therefore generated a fruitful intellectual atmosphere, and spawned a broad, rich, scientific literature on the topic.

Keywords
culture; primate; social learning; imitation; Primates Behavior; Social behavior in animals; Culture Origin

People

Professor Christine Anna Caldwell

Professor, Psychology