Professional Documents
Culture Documents
West-Eberhard, M. J. (2003). Developmental plasticity and evolu- Wrangham, R., & Peterson, D. (1996). Demonic males. New York:
tion. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Houghton Mifflin.
Wolf, E. R. (2001). Pathways of power: Building an anthropology of Zilles, K., Dabringhaus, A., Geyer, S., Amunts, K., Qu, M.,
the modern world. Berkeley: University of California Press. Schleicher, A., et al. (1996). Structural asymmetries in the hu-
Wrangham, R. W. (1999). Evolution of coalitionary killing. Year- man forebrain and the forebrain of non-human primates and
book of Physical Anthropology, 42, 130. rats. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 20, 593605.
It is a truism that cultures, or widely distributed Triandis, 1989), cognition (Medin & Atran, 2004;
clusters of ideas, practices, and their material effects, Nisbett, Peng, Choi, & Norenzayan, 2001), attention
exist in all human populations, vary markedly from one and perception (Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005), motiva-
group to another, and shape human lives in profound tion (Heine, Lehman, Kitayama, & Markus, 1999), and
ways. Linguistic dialects, cooking methods, technol- emotion (Mesquita, 2001; Nisbett & Cohen, 1996).
ogy, calendars, time-keeping devices, writing, formal This is understandable. For most of its modern his-
schooling, folktales, religious beliefs, agricultural tory, psychology has faced a daunting cultural chal-
practices, and, as recent evidence indicates, even basic lenge. The vast bulk of empirical research in psychol-
psychological processes such as selfways and cogni- ogy, with some notable exceptions, many originating
tive tendencies vary across groups and form the bulk of from evolutionary psychology (e.g., Buss, 1989; Daly
human activity in all societies in the world. & Wilson, 1988), has been conducted with an astonish-
Culture is an evolutionary puzzle for two reasons: ingly narrow subset of the worlds population: West-
(a) No other unitary species in the world shows the ex- ern, middle-class, industrialized, secular people (and
tent of intergroup variation in behavior that is seen in their children). Needless to say, this subgroup is a cul-
humans, and (b) this intergroup variation is largely in- turally unrepresentative sample of the world and com-
dependent of reproductive events. What accounts for prises a small percentage of the worlds population. As
this variation? It cannot be genetic differences. Al- a result, until recently the invariance of psychological
though there is considerable evidence from behavioral processes was assumed as a given, and little was
genetics that some individual differences in behavior known about the extent to which psychological theo-
within any given group are partly genetic (e.g., Plomin, ries and findings would generalize to the rest of the
Owen, & McGuffin, 1994), genetic differences be- worlds population, and in fact many of the central the-
tween human groups are too small and behavioral vari- ories and findings of psychology do not travel well (see
ation between groups too large for genetic evolution to Norenzayan & Heine, 2005, for a discussion of univer-
explain most human intergroup variation. Moreover, sals and cultural differences). This picture has been
two groups of genetically similar individuals who live changing slowly. Growing cross-cultural research
in different environments end up with radically differ- promises to expand the psychological database to en-
ent beliefs and behaviors. Nongenetic explanations are compass the worlds cultural diversity, and, as a result,
needed. Gangestad, Haselton, and Buss (this issue), are theories about human behavior can gain greater accu-
right that evolutionary processes that do not invoke ge- racy and generality, placing psychological science on
netic differences can shed light on why and how cul- firmer empirical foundations.
tural variation emerges. But culture is not just the explanans but also the
explanandum of social science. It is a thing that must
be explained. Why does culture exist at all? Are there
Cultural Variation in Psychology phylogenetic homologies of culture in other species?
How does culture emerge, and what are the psycholog-
In most of psychology as well as anthropology, cul- ical mechanisms by which beliefs and behaviors
ture is treated as a given. Psychologists interested in achieve cultural stability in a population of minds?
culture have tended to focus on the extent to which cul- Why are some distributions of beliefs and behaviors
tures vary and how this variation affects not just the su- more culturally prevalent than others? How do cultur-
perficial content of beliefs and behaviors but the very ally acquired beliefs interact with innate tendencies?
nature of basic domain general psychological pro- These are important questions about culture that invite
cesses, including the self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; psychologists to treat culture as an emerging process as
123
COMMENTARIES
well as a causal force in human psychology (Kameda, rapidly cumulative that many evolutionary scientists
Takezawa, & Hastie, 2003; Lehman, Chiu, & Schaller, consider it a species-specific second system of inheri-
2004; Norenzayan, Schaller, & Heine, in press; tance in humans, distinct from, but interacting with,
Schaller & Crandall, 2004). genetic inheritance (Richerson & Boyd, 2005;
Tomasello, 1999). Richerson and Boyd went so far as
to argue that transmitted culture is an adaptation and
Evoked and Transmitted Cultural that babies are born biologically prepared to rapidly
Variation learn the beliefs and practices of their social group. A
learning bias that adopts the most common behaviors
As Tooby and Cosmides (1992) have proposed, of the ingroup may have been selected in the ecologi-
from an evolutionary perspective, there are two known cally fluctuating ancestral environment in which hu-
processes that offer a naturalistic account of how cul- man psychology evolved. Whether or not transmitted
ture emerges: (a) Culture can be evoked by local envi- culture can best be considered a naturally selected ad-
ronmental triggers acting on the same underlying psy- aptation, psychological research grounded in evolu-
chology (evoked culture); (b) culture can travel from tionary science can shed light on this powerful but
mind to mind by processes of transmission, analogous, poorly understood engine that drives culture.
but not identical, to Darwinian genetic evolution Although Gangestad et al. (this issue) are careful to
(transmitted or epidemiological culture, e.g., Sperber, note that cultural variation is likely to be the result of
1996). To illustrate how evoked culture operates, both evocation and transmission, like Tooby and
Tooby and Cosmides discussed how the same Cosmides (1992) and many evolutionary psycholo-
food-sharing mechanism can lead to different cultural gists, they privilege the notion of evoked culture as the
norms depending on the degree of variability in forag- central evolutionary framework to explain cultural
ing success. Egalitarian norms for food sharing and variation. Of course, evoked culture is a welcome de-
sanctions against hoarding are strong where foraging velopment that promises to engage evolutionary psy-
or hunting success is highly variable across time, but chology with cultural psychology and may encourage
not when the supply of food is relatively stable. In their fruitful new avenues to explain not just psychological
article, Gangestad et al. (this issue) admirably elabo- universals but cultural variation as well. But why have
rate on the notion of evoked culture to explain cultural evolutionary psychologists been wary of the concept of
variation in mate preferences. In this case, the authors transmitted culture? Is transmitted culture a Trojan
argue that the same underlying mate preference for in- horse that, once invited in, would unleash conceptual
dicators of health interacts with an ecological cue to anarchy and unravel the project of anchoring psychol-
produce cultural variationwhere parasite prevalence ogy in an evolutionary framework? On first thought, it
is high, features signaling health are more important might seem so. Many of the cultural elements that
and diagnostic of underlying health, and as a result at- spread in a population are, at best, arbitrary conven-
tractive mates are preferred more strongly than in re- tions such as dress code, whether to eat horse meat or
gions with low parasite prevalence. dog meat, or whether to serve the said meat as a siz-
Transmitted or epidemiological culture, in contrast, zling steak or boil it into a goopy goulash. At worst,
is prototypically what most social scientists consider they are Darwinian nightmares, competing with ge-
culture (Nisbett, 2003; Richerson & Boyd, 2005; netic interests and even undermining them, such as
Sperber 1996). This refers to the fact that genetically when the idea of celibacy, suicide, the practice of using
similar people living in similar environments may pos- contraceptives, eating rotten foods, or writing scien-
sess strikingly different beliefs and practices that they tific articles instead of having children succeed in colo-
acquire from others in their group. Culture emerges nizing a large number of minds.
when information is transmitted not genetically but so- But no need to worry about transmitted culture!
cially through social learning mechanisms such as Even if a significant part of the content of culture may
mimicry, imitation, and instruction (Tomasello, be fitness-neutral or in some cases may even compete
Kruger, & Ratner, 1993), as well as a byproduct of with genetic fitness, evolutionary thinking is essential
communicative processes such as gossip, conversa- for our understanding of (a) the evolved psychological
tions, and telling of stories (Schaller, 2001). With sig- capacities that power cultural transmission and (b)
nificant assistance from other human beings, people whether cultural elements themselves are subject to a
acquire and transmit substantial amounts of informa- secondary evolutionary processvariation, selection,
tion that subsequently alters their behavior in profound and retention analogous to natural selection. Evolu-
ways. Growing research points to some rudimentary tionary thinking is also essential to understand how ge-
forms of cultural transmission in other species, particu- netic and cultural evolution influence each other. In the
larly chimpanzees, who exhibit culturally variable tra- rest of this article, then, I aim to give transmitted cul-
ditions in some 39 behaviors (Whiten, 2005). How- ture its due, with two goals in mind. With evolutionary
ever, cultural transmission in humans is so massive and psychologists in mind, I argue for the centrality of
124
COMMENTARIES
transmitted culture in accounting for a significant, if ises to enrich both fields as well as psychology more
not overwhelming, bulk of human variation on the broadly.
planet. With cultural psychologists in mind, I argue for
the importance of evolutionary science in explaining
cultural transmission as one of the central mechanisms
of human cultural variation. Cultural Evolution
125
COMMENTARIES
Furthermore, cultural evolution is essential for our Irish herders, whereas the U.S. North was settled
understanding of human nature because it sheds light mostly by European farmers, and as a result a tradition
on many (culturally altered) behaviors that are other- of honor is prevalent in the South but not in the North.
wise quite puzzling from the standpoint of genetic evo- But cultural differences persist even when the original
lution or evoked culture. Evolutionary psychologists economic conditions disappear. Culture of honor con-
correctly point out that human mental adaptations were tinues to flourish in industrialized Houston, even
selected for in the ancestral environment, not in the though herding is a thing of the past. The best explana-
modern cultural environment, and therefore they could tion for the persistence of honor cultures is social trans-
be maladaptive today. But why did the modern cultural mission, and indeed a variety of evidence supports this
environment become so astonishingly different from view (Nisbett & Cohen, 1996; see also Cohen,
the ancestral environment in less than 10,000 years? Vandello, Puente, & Rantilla, 1999). Perhaps a com-
The answer is cultural evolution. For example, popula- mon scenario across cultures is that ecological differ-
tions exposed to higher education are less likely to ences evoke an initial cultural response that adaptively
have offspring, which means that the practice of higher varies but then is picked up by processes of transmitted
education can spread in populations even though it has culture, amplified, and perpetuated even when the ini-
the net effect of reducing genetic fitness (Richerson & tial conditions are no longer present.
Boyd, 2005). The most compelling naturalistic expla- How, then, can we disentangle the relative contribu-
nation for such effects is cultural evolution. tions of evoked and transmitted culture? Richerson and
Boyd (2005) proposed the ideal common garden ex-
periment: Take two groups of individuals with very
Back to Evoked Culture different cultures, say, Inuit fishermen and Ache forag-
ers, and switch them aroundsome Inuit move into
Although evoked and transmitted culture are theo- the rainforests of Paraguay and some Ache move into
retically distinct processes, it is notoriously difficult to the icy fringes of Greenland. Would the Ache foragers
disentangle the two. In their framework, Gangestad et in Greenland begin to resemble the Inuit more than
al. (this issue) tested variation in parasite prevalence they would resemble their Ache compatriots in Para-
against variation in gender inequality to explain mate guay, as the evoked culture explanation would predict?
preferences. Although parasite prevalence clearly is an Or would they remain more like their Ache compatri-
evoked variable (characteristic of the environment), it ots and, without the cultural repertoire of arctic sur-
is unclear whether gender inequality is best construed vival, quickly perish in the harsh climate, as the trans-
as the product of evocation or transmission. As mitted culture explanation would maintain?
Gangestad et al. discuss in some detail, there are vari- In the absence of such a naturalistic experiment,
ous competing explanations for gender inequality what can researchers do? One approach is to hold one
across cultures in the first place. When men produce variable constant while examining the effect of the
more surplus calories (usually by hunting) than other variable. Comparing groups living in similar en-
women, gender roles diverge. Men and women may vironments but with different beliefs and practices al-
engage in different activities because of evocation lows researchers to isolate the effects of transmitted
(ecological factors) or transmission (how boys and culture. The Amish of the U.S. Midwest, for example,
girls are socialized and trained in the society). Most live in the same ecological environment as neighboring
likely it is both. Therefore, Gangestad et al. provide ev- German-ancestry farmers but to this day have main-
idence that evocation does account for cultural varia- tained beliefs and practices that are markedly different.
tion in mate preferences, but their design does not al- The complementary strategy would be to measure the
low for a clear test of whether transmission contributes effects of a novel ecological variable on a group that
to this variation. shares the same culture (e.g., by examining how farm-
Indeed, Gangestad et al. (this issue) point to the is- ers in the U.S. North living in a farming community
sue of the inseparability of evoked and transmitted cul- differ from farmers who have migrated to a new envi-
ture when they discuss Nisbett and Cohens (1996) ronment in which they adopt herding). Psychologists
work on the culture of honor. The southern United interested in cultural variation have been slow in adopt-
States, as well as the Mediterranean region, has a tradi- ing such research questions that are ultimately impor-
tion of honor, in which toughness and aggressive re- tant in isolating the mechanisms of cultural variation.
sponse to insults is prized in a way that it is not in the These questions can be fruitfully examined by study-
northern United States or in most of northern Europe. ing immigrant populations who move to an ecologi-
The origin story of this difference is in fact evoked cul- cally different setting and conversely by tracking cul-
ture: Where wealth is easily stolen, as in ecologies sup- tural evolution in several groups who live in similar
porting herding economies, men are more deeply pre- ecological circumstances.
occupied with maintaining their honor or reputation For example, one interesting study (Rice & Steele,
for toughness. The U.S. South was settled by Scotch 2005) compared the average subjective well being
126
COMMENTARIES
(SWB) of European countries with various European Atran, S., & Norenzayan, A. (2004). Religions evolutionary land-
ethnic groups in the United States whose ancestry is scape: Counterintuition, commitment, compassion, commu-
nion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27, 713770.
derived from these countries. Cultures across coun- Boyd, R., & Richerson, P. (1985). Culture and the evolutionary pro-
tries differ markedly in their average SWB, and it was cess. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
found that the relative differences in SWB among Boyer, P. (1994). Cognitive constraints on cultural representations:
these American ethnic groups, although smaller, were Natural ontologies and religious ideas. In L. A. Hirschfeld & S.
nevertheless preserved even after generations of liv- A. Gelman (Eds.), Mapping the mind: Domain specificity in
cognition and culture (pp. 391411). New York: Cambridge
ing in the same country, under similar ecological con- University Press.
ditions of American middle-class life. Because group Boyer, P., & Ramble, C. (2001) Cognitive templates for religious
differences in SWB in these samples are likely not ge- concepts: Cross-cultural evidence for recall of counter-intuitive
netic, such a finding supports the idea that an impor- representations. Cognitive Science, 25, 535564.
tant psychological variable such as SWB is transmit- Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences:
Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and
ted socially across generations and can persist for a
Brain Sciences, 12, 149.
long time even in a different environment. Cohen, D., Vandello, J., Puente, S., & Rantilla, A. (1999). When
you call me that, smile!: How norms for politeness, interaction
styles, and aggression work together in southern culture. Social
Psychology Quarterly, 62, 257275.
Conclusion
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide. New York: deGruyter.
Dennett, D. C. (1995). Darwins dangerous idea: Evolution and the
In the past two decades, both cultural psychology meanings of life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
and evolutionary psychology have enjoyed marked Guthrie, S. (1993). Faces in the clouds: A new theory of religion. Ox-
growth. Cultural psychologists have been document- ford, England: Oxford University Press.
ing the extent of cultural variation in psychological Heath, C., Bell, C., & Sternberg, E. (2001). Emotional selection in
memes: The case of urban legends. Journal of Personality &
functioning. Evolutionary psychologists have been Social Psychology, 81, 10281041.
documenting the species-specific mental architecture Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1999).
that evolved to solve adaptive problems in the ances- Is there a universal need for positive self-regard? Psychological
tral environment. Yet evolutionary explanations for Review, 106, 766794.
how culture emerges in the first place, as well as for Henrich, J., & Boyd, R. (1998). The evolution of conformist trans-
mission and between-group differences. Evolution and Human
cultural differences, have been relatively neglected in Behavior, 19, 215242.
cultural psychology and are beginning to be ad- Henrich, J., & Boyd, R. (2002). On modeling cognition and culture:
dressed only recently. Conversely, empirical work on Why replicators are not necessary for cultural evolution. Jour-
cultural variation has been relatively neglected in evo- nal of Cognition and Culture, 2, 87112.
lutionary psychology. Greater interest in the scope Henrich, J., & Gil-White, F. J. (2001). The evolution of prestige:
Freely conferred status as a mechanism for enhancing the bene-
and nature of cultural variation among evolutionary
fits of cultural transmission. Evolution and Human Behavior,
psychologists, and greater interest in evolutionary ex- 22, 165196.
planations in cultural psychology, are a welcome de- Kameda, T., Takezawa, M., & Hastie, R. (2003). The logic of social
velopment that stands to strengthen psychology as a sharing: An evolutionary game analysis of adaptive norm devel-
science. Evolutionary considerations that underlie opment. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7, 219.
Lehman, D. R., Chiu, C.-Y., & Schaller, M. (2004). Psychology and
processes of both evoked and transmitted cultural
culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 689714.
variation are an exciting point of convergence be- Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implica-
tween these two fields and are an important scientific tions for cognition, emotion and motivation. Psychological Re-
advance for a psychology that encompasses the view, 98, 224253.
worlds cultural diversity. Medin, D. L., & Atran, S. (2004). The native mind: Biological
categorization, reasoning and decision making in develop-
ment and across cultures. Psychological Review, 111,
Notes 960983.
Mesquita, B. (2001). Emotions in collectivist and individualist con-
texts. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 80, 6874.
The writing of this article was supported by a grant Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought. New York: Free
from SSHRC (41020040197). Press.
Correspondence should be sent to Ara Norenzayan, Nisbett, R. E., & Cohen, D. (1996). Culture of honor: The psychol-
Department of Psychology, University of British Co- ogy of violence in the south. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Nisbett, R. E., & Miyamoto, Y. (2005). Culture and holistic versus
lumbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, analytic perception. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9,
Canada. E-mail: ara@psych.ubc.ca 467473.
Nisbett, R. E., Peng, K., Choi, I., & Norenzayan, A. (2001). Culture
and systems of thought: Holistic vs. analytic cognition. Psycho-
References logical Review, 108, 291310.
Norenzayan, A., Atran, S., Faulkner, J., & Schaller, M. (in press).
Atran, S. (2001) The trouble with memes: Inference versus imitation Memory and mystery: The cultural selection of minimally
in cultural creation. Human Nature, 12, 351381. counterintuitive narratives. Cognitive Science.
127