No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
No tinkering allowed: When the end goal requires a highly specific or risky, and complex action sequence, expect ritualistic scaffolding
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2022
Abstract
On Jagiello et al.'s cultural action framework, end-goal resolvability and causal transparency make possible the transmission of complex technologies through low-fidelity cultural learning. We offer three further features of goal-directed action sequences – specificity, riskiness, and complexity – which alter the effectiveness of low-fidelity cultural learning. Incorporating these into the cultural action framework generates further novel, testable predictions for bifocal stance theory.
- Type
- Open Peer Commentary
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press
References
Boyd, R. (2017). A different kind of animal: How culture transformed our species. Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Earl, J. W., & McCleary, B. V. (1994). Mystery of the poisoned expedition. Nature, 368(6473), 683–684. https://doi.org/10.1038/368683a0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Omefe, P. N., Ajetunmobi, W. A., Onyema, C. E., & Atoyebi, O. E. (2021). Undercooked bitter yam poisoning in three siblings and the public health implications: A case report. Nigerian Journal of Paediatrics, 48(2), 93–95. https://doi.org/10.4314/njp.v48i2.6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Target article
Tradition and invention: The bifocal stance theory of cultural evolution
Related commentaries (25)
Action sequences, habits, and attention in copying strategies
Activation of stance by cues, or attunement to the invariants in a populated environment?
Bifocal stance theory, the transmission metaphor, and institutional reality
Bifocalism is in the eye of the beholder: Social learning as a developmental response to the accuracy of others' mentalizing
Can bifocal stance theory explain children's selectivity in active information transmission?
Conformity versus transmission in animal cultures
Confucius and the varifocal stance
Considering individual differences and variability is important in the development of the bifocal stance theory
Creativity and tradition: Music and bifocal stance theory
Cultural evolution is not independent of linguistic evolution and social aspects of language use
Culture is an optometrist: Cultural contexts adjust the prescription of social learning bifocals
Fidelity, stances, and explaining cultural stability
If you presume relevance, you don't need a bifocal lens
Implications of instrumental and ritual stances for traditionalism–threat responsivity relationships
Is there a need to distinguish instrumental copying behavior from traditions?
No tinkering allowed: When the end goal requires a highly specific or risky, and complex action sequence, expect ritualistic scaffolding
Non-instrumental actions can communicate roles and relationships, not just rituals
On the evolutionary origins of the bifocal stance
Psychological closeness and concrete construal may underlie high-fidelity social emulation
Representational exchange in social learning: Blurring the lines between the ritual and instrumental
Revisiting an extant framework: Concerns about culture and task generalization
The ritual stance does not apply to magic in general
Tradition–invention dichotomy and optimization in the field of science
What is the simplest model that can account for high-fidelity imitation?
When instrumental inference hides behind seemingly arbitrary conventions
Author response
Bifocal stance theory: An effort to broaden, extend, and clarify