Here we look at the group aspect of religion. Below are links to empirical studies pertaining to different categories that broadly address the social and behavioral aspects associated with religion
Morality & Ethics
Author(s): Ara Norenzayan and Azim F. Shariff
Source: Science. Washington: Oct 03, 2008. Vol. 322, Iss. 5898; pg. 58
Abstract: We examine empirical evidence for religious pro-sociality, the hypothesis that religions facilitate costly behaviors that benefit other people. Although sociological surveys reveal an association between self-reports of religiosity and pro-sociality, experiments measuring religiosity and actual prosocial behavior suggest that this association emerges primarily in contexts where reputational concerns are heightened. Experimentally induced religious thoughts reduce rates of cheating and increase altruistic behavior among anonymous strangers. Experiments demonstrate an association between apparent profession of religious devotion and greater trust. Cross-cultural evidence suggests an association between the cultural presence of morally concerned deities and large group size in humans. We synthesize converging evidence from various fields for religious pro-sociality, address its specific boundary conditions, and point to unresolved questions and novel predictions.
Author(s): Moll J, Schulkin J.
Source: Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews. 2009 Mar;33(3):456-65. Epub 2008 Dec 14
Abstract: Modern neuroscience is beginning to substantiate Darwin’s notion that the roots of human morality lie in social instincts, present in several species. The role of primitive motivational-emotional systems in human morality still remains under-recognized, however. Based on recent experimental evidence and classic neuroanatomical data, we here portray a view of how “ancient” limbic-neurohumoral systems of social attachment and aversion are crucially involved in human moral behaviors, including altruism, empathic concern and aggression. Rather than being a mere evolutionary remnant of our ancestors, such limbic-neurohumoral systems are tightly integrated with cortical mechanisms to enable complex moral sentiments and values, which powerfully influence our choices in socio-cultural settings. Exploring the underlying mechanisms of human social attachment and aversion will provide new insights and foster novel experimental paradigms for the study of moral cognition and behavior.
Author(s): Joshua D. Greene, Sylvia A. Morelli, Kelly Lowenberg, Leigh E. Nystrom and Jonathan D. Cohen
Source: Cognition. June 2008. Volume 107, Issue 3, Pages 1144-1154
Abstract: Traditional theories of moral development emphasize the role of controlled cognition in mature moral judgment, while a more recent trend emphasizes intuitive and emotional processes. Here we test a dual-process theory synthesizing these perspectives. More specifically, our theory associates utilitarian moral judgment (approving of harmful actions that maximize good consequences) with controlled cognitive processes and associates non-utilitarian moral judgment with automatic emotional responses. Consistent with this theory, we find that a cognitive load manipulation selectively interferes with utilitarian judgment. This interference effect provides direct evidence for the influence of controlled cognitive processes in moral judgment, and utilitarian moral judgment more specifically.
Author(s): Greg Miller
Source: Science. Washington: May 9, 2008. Vol. 320, Iss. 5877, pp. 734 – 737
Abstract: Neurobiologists, philosophers, psychologists, and legal scholars are probing the nature of human morality using a variety of experimental techniques, including one reported online this week in Science, and moral challenges.
Author(s): Brandon Randolph-Seng and Michael E. Nielsen
Source: International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. Volume 17, Issue 4, October 2007, Pages 303-315
Abstract: Most demonstrations of the automatic activation of mental representations and resulting behavioral effects have been conducted in the context of specific stereotypes. The main purpose of these studies was to test whether primed religious representations can have automatic influences on relevant (prosocial) behavior (Study 1) regardless of prior religious belief (Study 2). Study 1 found that participants primed with religious representations (religious words) cheated significantly less on a subsequent task. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 with subliminal presentations of religious words and further found that participant’s intrinsic religiosity had no influence on rates of cheating with the prime received. These results provide the first known demonstration of religious representations automatically influencing behavior. Implications for the psychology of religion are discussed.
Author(s): Jonathan Haidt
Source: Science. May 18, 2007: Vol. 316. Iss. 5827, pp. 998 – 1002
Abstract: People are selfish, yet morally motivated. Morality is universal, yet culturally variable. Such apparent contradictions are dissolving as research from many disciplines converges on a few shared principles, including the importance of moral intuitions, the socially functional (rather than truth-seeking) nature of moral thinking, and the coevolution of moral minds with cultural practices and institutions that create diverse moral communities. I propose a fourth principle to guide future research: Morality is about more than harm and fairness. More research is needed on the collective and religious parts of the moral domain, such as loyalty, authority, and spiritual purity.
Author(s): Bart Duriez and Bart Soenens
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development. Volume 30, Number 1, 2006. Pages 76-83.
Abstract: The present study investigates the relation between the religiosity dimensions which Wulff (1991) described (Exclusion versus Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal versus Symbolic) and both moral attitudes and moral competence. The Post-Critical Belief Scale (Duriez, Fontaine, & Hutseabut, 2000) was used as a measure of Wulff’s religiosity dimensions, and the Moral Judgment Test (Lind, 1998) was used to measure both moral attitudes and moral competence. Results from a middle adolescent sample (N = 338), a university sample (N = 336) and an adult sample (N = 336) suggest that whereas the Literal versus Symbolic dimension shows substantial relations with moral attitudes and moral competence, the Exclusion versus Inclusion of Transcendence dimension is unrelated to both of them. This suggests that, although there is no intrinsic relationship between religiosity and morality, the way people process religious contents is predictive of the way they deal with moral issues.
Author(s): Larissa Conradt and Timothy J. Roper
Source: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Volume 20, Issue 8, August 2005, Pages 449-456
Abstract: Individual animals routinely face decisions that are crucial to their fitness. In social species, however, many of these decisions need to be made jointly with other group members because the group will split apart unless a consensus is reached. Here, we review empirical and theoretical studies of consensus decision making, and place them in a coherent framework. In particular, we classify consensus decisions according to the degree to which they involve conflict of interest between group members, and whether they involve either local or global communication; we ask, for different categories of consensus decision, who makes the decision, what are the underlying mechanisms, and what are the functional consequences. We conclude that consensus decision making is common in non-human animals, and that cooperation between group members in the decision-making process is likely to be the norm, even when the decision involves significant conflict of interest.
Author(s): Bart Duriez
Source: Mental Health, Religion & Culture, Volume 7, Number 3, September 2004, Pages 249-254(6)
Abstract: It has been argued that an empathically mediated kin-specific altruistic impulse is part of the human genetic heritage, and that one of the functions of religion is to extend the range of this impulse beyond the kinship circle. However, it is clear that religion does not always succeed in this. The present study reconsiders the religiosity-empathy relation in a Flemish student sample (N= 375), using the Post-Critical Belief Scale, which allows to distinguish between being religious or not (Exclusion vs. Inclusion of Transcendence) from the way in which religious contents are processed (Literal vs. Symbolic). It is argued that the religiosity-empathy relation should be understood in terms of how people process religious contents rather than in terms of whether or not people are religious. In line with this reasoning, results show that, whereas empathy is unrelated to being religious, it is positively related to processing religious contents in a symbolic way. Social desirability did not influence these relationships.
Author(s): Stephen J. Conroy and Tisha L.N. Emerson
Source: Journal of Business Ethics. Volume 50, Number 4, April, 2004, Pages 383-396.
Abstract: We survey students at two Southern United States universities (one public and one private, religiously affiliated). Using a survey instrument that includes 25 vignettes, we test two important hypotheses: whether ethical attitudes are affected by religiosity (H1) and whether ethical attitudes are affected by courses in ethics, religion or theology (H2). Using a definition of religiosity based on behavior (church attendance), our results indicate that religiosity is a statistically significant predictor of responses in a number of ethical scenarios. In seven of the eight vignettes for which religiosity is significant, the effect is negative, implying that it reduces the acceptability of ethically-charged scenarios. Completion of ethics or religion classes, however, was a significant predictor of ethical attitudes in only two of the 25 vignettes (and in the expected direction). We also find that males and younger respondents appear to be more accepting of the ethically-questionable vignettes. We conclude that factors outside of the educational system may be more influential in shaping responses to ethical vignettes than are ethics and religion courses.
Education
Author(s): Sarah Brown and Karl Taylor
Source: Discussion Papers in Economics, 2003
Abstract: In this paper, we explore the determinants of one aspect of religious behaviour – church attendance – at the individual level using British data derived from the National Child Development Study (NCDS). To be specific, we focus on the relationship between education and church attendance, which has attracted some attention in the existing literature. In contrast to the previous literature in this area, our data allows us to explore the dynamic dimension to religious activity since the NCDS provides information on church attendance at three stages of an individual’s life cycle. The findings from our cross-section and panel data analysis, which treats education as an endogenous variable, support a positive association between education and church attendance. In addition, our findings suggest that current participation in religious activities is positively associated with past religious activities. Furthermore, our findings suggest that levels of religious activity tend to vary less over time suggesting that factors such as habit formation may be important.
Economics
Author(s): Joshua J. Lewer and Hendrik Van den Berg
Source: American Journal of Economics and Society. Volume 66, Issue 4, Page 765-794, October 2007
Abstract: Despite interest in the influence of religion on economic activity by early economists like Adam Smith, modern economists have done little research on the subject. In light of the apparent religious fervor in many parts of the global economy, economists’ seeming lack of interest in studying how religious cultures enhance or retard the globalization of economic activity is especially surprising. This article makes a contribution toward filling this void by examining how religion affects international trade. Specifically, we examine whether the sharing of religious cultures enables the formation of exchange networks that can overcome the failure or nonexistence of other social and economic institutions necessary for completing complex international transactions. We apply an expanded gravity model of international trade to control for a variety of factors that determine trade, and we use two recently developed regression methods, scaled OLS and nonlinear least squares, to exploit the model to its fullest. We find that the sharing of Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Eastern Orthodox Catholic, and Protestant cultures by people in different countries has a significantly positive influence on bilateral trade, all other things equal. The sharing of Roman Catholic culture has a significantly negative influence on bilateral trade, and the sharing of Islamic and Judaic cultures neither promotes nor discourages international exchange. These results suggest that some religious cultures are more conducive than others for forming international trade networks.
Author(s): Evelyn L. Lehrer
Source: Institute for the Study of Labor, Discussion Paper No. 1390, November 2004, Pages 1-37
Abstract: This paper critically reviews and synthesizes research on the role of religion on various aspects of the economic and demographic behavior of individuals and families in the United States, including the choice of marital partner, union formation and dissolution, fertility, female time allocation, education, wages, and wealth. Using a theoretical framework based on Gary Becker’s contributions to the economics of the family, religious affiliation is seen to affect these outcomes because it has an impact on the costs and benefits of many interrelated decisions that people make over the life cycle. In addition, for behaviors that pertain to married couple households, affiliation matters because it is a complementary trait within the context of marriage. Religiosity, another dimension of religion, also affects economic and demographic outcomes, partly because it accentuates differences by religious affiliation, partly because of the generally beneficial effects that religious involvement has on health and well-being.
Author(s): Robert J. Barro and Rachel M. McCleary
Source: The Milken Institute Review. Second Quarter 2004, Pages 36-45
Abstract: Empirical research on the determinants of economic growth has typically neglected the influence of religion. To fill this gap, we use international survey data on religiosity for a broad panel of countries to investigate the effects of church attendance and religious beliefs on economic growth. To isolate the direction of causation from religiosity to economic performance, we use instrumental variables suggested by our analysis of systems in which church attendance and beliefs are the dependent variables. The instruments are dummy variables for the presence of state religion and for regulation of the religion market, an indicator of religious pluralism, and the composition of religions. We find that economic growth responds positively to the extent of religious beliefs, notably those in hell and heaven, but negatively to church attendance. That is, growth depends on the extent of believing relative to belonging. These results accord with a perspective in which religious beliefs influence individual traits that enhance economic performance. The beliefs are, in turn, the principal output of the religion sector, and church attendance measures the inputs to this sector. Hence, for given beliefs, more church attendance signifies more resources used up by the religion sector.
Author(s): Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales
Source: Journal of Monetary Economics. Volume 50, Issue 1, January 2003, Pages 225-282
Abstract: Since Max Weber, there has been an active debate on the impact of religion on people’s economic attitudes. Much of the existing evidence, however, is based on cross-country studies in which this impact is confounded by differences in other institutional factors. We use the World Values Surveys to identify the relationship between intensity of religious beliefs and economic attitudes, controlling for country-fixed effects. We study several economic attitudes toward cooperation, the government, working women, legal rules, thriftiness, and the market economy. We also distinguish across religious denominations, differentiating on whether a religion is dominant in a country. We find that on average, religious beliefs are associated with “good” economic attitudes, where “good” is defined as conducive to higher per capita income and growth. Yet religious people tend to be more racist and less favorable with respect to working women. These effects differ across religious denominations. Overall, we find that Christian religions are more positively associated with attitudes conducive to economic growth.
Author(s): Bradley T. Ewing
Source: American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Volume 59, Issue 3, Pages 419–432, July 2000
Abstract: This paper provides new empirical evidence about the existence of a Catholic wage premium. A simple allocation-of-time model provides two explanations for the observation that those persons raised in the Catholic religion earn more than their non-Catholic counterparts. The Catholic religion may add to a person’s stock of human capital and/or it may act as a signal of desirable labor market characteristics such as discipline, honesty, trustworthiness, and high motivation.
Emergence
Author(s): Sumpter, D.J.T
Source: Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B January 29, 2006 361:5-22; doi:10.1098/rstb.2005.1733
Abstract: In recent years, the concept of self-organization has been used to understand collective behaviour of animals. The central tenet of self-organization is that simple repeated interactions between individuals can produce complex adaptive patterns at the level of the group. Inspiration comes from patterns seen in physical systems, such as spiralling chemical waves, which arise without complexity at the level of the individual units of which the system is composed. The suggestion is that biological structures such as termite mounds, ant trail networks and even human crowds can be explained in terms of repeated interactions between the animals and their environment, without invoking individual complexity. Here, I review cases in which the self-organization approach has been successful in explaining collective behaviour of animal groups and societies. Ant pheromone trail networks, aggregation of cockroaches, the applause of opera audiences and the migration of fish schools have all been accurately described in terms of individuals following simple sets of rules. Unlike the simple units composing physical systems, however, animals are themselves complex entities, and other examples of collective behaviour, such as honey bee foraging with its myriad of dance signals and behavioural cues, cannot be fully understood in terms of simple individuals alone. I argue that the key to understanding collective behaviour lies in identifying the principles of the behavioural algorithms followed by individual animals and of how information flows between the animals. These principles, such as positive feedback, response thresholds and individual integrity, are repeatedly observed in very different animal societies. The future of collective behaviour research lies in classifying these principles, establishing the properties they produce at a group level and asking why they have evolved in so many different and distinct natural systems. Ultimately, this research could inform not only our understanding of animal societies, but also the principles by which we organize our own society.
Author(s): Iain D. Couzin, Jens Krause, Nigel R. Franks & Simon A. Levin
Source: Nature 433, February 3, 2005. 513-516.
Abstract: For animals that forage or travel in groups, making movement decisions often depends on social interactions among group members1, 2. However, in many cases, few individuals have pertinent information, such as knowledge about the location of a food source3, 4, or of a migration route5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Using a simple model we show how information can be transferred within groups both without signalling and when group members do not know which individuals, if any, have information. We reveal that the larger the group the smaller the proportion of informed individuals needed to guide the group, and that only a very small proportion of informed individuals is required to achieve great accuracy. We also demonstrate how groups can make consensus decisions, even though informed individuals do not know whether they are in a majority or minority, how the quality of their information compares with that of others, or even whether there are any other informed individuals. Our model provides new insights into the mechanisms of effective leadership and decision-making in biological systems.
Author(s): David A. Wollert
Source: Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. Volume 56, Number 1, March 2004, Pages 55-59
Abstract: No doubt, most churchgoing Christians have at one time or another, while sitting in a pew on Sunday morning, posited the question “Why am I here?” They are not asking this question in the grandiose sense of “What is the meaning of life?” Rather, they are pondering “Why am I here at Walnut Street Church this morning, interacting with fellow Christians, singing hymns, reading Scripture, and breaking bread? What is the purpose of the church? And how does Walnut Street Church fit into the broader context of God’s Kingdom?” In an attempt to address such questions, it might be profitable to consider an equally vexing problem in science. It is a problem that is beginning to be solved (to the extent that it can be solved), and it may provide some useful metaphors, if not outright models, for understanding our roles as individuals in the church, both the church local (i.e., Walnut Street) and the Church universal (i.e., God’s Kingdom).
Author(s): Robert Axtell
Source: Axtell, Robert. “The Emergence of Firms in a Population of Agents: Local Increasing Returns, Unstable Nash Equilibria, and Power Law Size Distributions.” Brookings. June 1999. The Brookings Institutution. <http://www.brookings.edu/reports/1999/06technology_axtell.aspx>.
Abstract: A model in which heterogeneous agents form firms is described and empirically tested. Each agent has preferences for both income and leisure and provides a variable input (“effort”) to production. There are increasing returns to cooperation, and agents self-organize into productive teams. Within each group the output is divided into equal shares. Each agent periodically adjusts its effort level to maximize its welfare non-cooperatively. Agents are permitted to join other firms or start up new firms when it is welfare maximizing to do so. As a firm becomes large, agents have little incentive to supply effort, since each agent’s share is relatively insensitive to its effort level. This gives rise to free riders. As free riding becomes commonplace in a large firm, agents migrate to other firms and the large firm declines.
Author(s): D. Challet and Y. -C. Zhang
Source: Physica A: Statistical and Theoretical Physics. Volume 246, Issues 3-4, 1 December 1997, Pages 407-418
Abstract: A binary game is introduced and analysed. N players have to choose one of the two sides independently and those on the minority side win. Players use a finite set of ad hoc strategies to make their decision, based on the past record. The analysing power is limited and can adapt when necessary. Interesting cooperation and competition patterns of the society seem to arise and to be responsive to the payoff function.
Quality of Life
Author(s): Jennifer Couzin
Source: Science. Boston: 23 January 2009. Vol. 323. Iss. 5913, pp. 454 – 457
Abstract: In a string of hot articles, two social scientists report that obesity, smoking, and other behaviors “spread” in networks. As the two friends expand their theory, doubters sharpen their questions.
Author(s): Andrew Eungi Kim
Source: Social Indicators Research. Volume 62-63, Numbers 1-3, April 2003
Abstract: This paper examines religious influences on personal and societal well-being in South Korea by systematically analyzing recent research on the topic, and by comparing the findings with those of other countries, especially those of North America, to assess similarities and differences. In concert with generally accepted findings elsewhere, the paper shows that Koreans with religious faith generally have higher levels of satisfaction than those without religious faith with respect to such quality of life indicators as income level, interpersonal relationships, job satisfaction, marital life, and health. Among those considered to be religious, Protestants were found to be most satisfied with life, followed by Catholics and Buddhists. It is also clear that individuals with strong religious beliefs, and those who frequently participate in religious activities, are more satisfied with life than those with less strong religious conviction and commitment. With regard to the relationship between religion and societal well-being, this paper shows that religious organizations in South Korea, especially Christian ones, have contributed significantly to societal well-being through their extensive involvement in welfare services, socio-economic activities, such as health care and education, and the democratic movement. What this paper confirms, therefore, is that religious beliefs and practices do matter in the lives of real people: religious resources can help individuals feel more secure, stable and happy; and religious resources also can be mobilized to meet social needs, thereby contribute to societal progress.
Author(s): Abbott L. Ferriss
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies. Volume 3, Number 3, September 2002
Abstract: Subjective and objective indicators of the quality of life (QOL) are used to test relationships with religious involvement, participation, and belief. Findings from other studies show religious involvement to be associated with longer life. The percent of religious adherents in a state is correlated with the harmony domain of the QOL and negatively with an indicator of stress. After reviewing relevant previous studies, I examine data from the 1972–1996 General Social Survey Cumulative File. It shows happiness to be associated with the frequency of attendance at religious services, with denominational preference, and with doctrinal preference. Happiness also is associated with certain religious-related beliefs: belief that the world is evil or good but not belief in immortality. In a discussion of these and other findings, hypotheses are suggested to explain and to further explore the effects of religion upon the QOL. Among the conclusions: our conception of the “good life” rests heavily upon Judeo-Christian ideals; religious organizations contribute to the integration of the community, hence enhancing the QOL; since frequency of attendance is imperfectly associated with the QOL, other influences are at work; the doctrine of the religion may attract persons of happy disposition; religion may explain a purpose in life that fosters well-being; and others. I suggest implications of the findings for programs of religious organizations.
Primate Studies
Author(s): Keith Jensen, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello
Source: Science. Washington: Oct 05, 2007. Vol. 318, Iss. 5847; pg. 107
Abstract: Traditional models of economic decision-making assume that people are self-interested rational maximizers. Empirical research has demonstrated, however, that people will take into account the interests of others and are sensitive to norms of cooperation and fairness. In one of the most robust tests of this finding, the ultimatum game, individuals will reject a proposed division of a monetary windfall, at a cost to themselves, if they perceive it as unfair. Here we show that in an ultimatum game, humans’ closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), are rational maximizers and are not sensitive to fairness. These results support the hypothesis that other-regarding preferences and aversion to inequitable outcomes, which play key roles in human social organization, distinguish us from our closest living relatives.
Author(s): Esther Herrmann, Josep Call, María Victoria Hernández-Lloreda, Brian Hare, Michael Tomasello
Source: Science. Washington: Sep 07, 2007. Vol. 317, Iss. 5843; pg. 1360
Abstract: Humans have many cognitive skills not possessed by their nearest primate relatives. The cultural intelligence hypothesis argues that this is mainly due to a species-specific set of social-cognitive skills, emerging early in ontogeny, for participating and exchanging knowledge in cultural groups. We tested this hypothesis by giving a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests to large numbers of two of humans’ closest primate relatives, chimpanzees and orangutans, as well as to 2.5-year-old human children before literacy and schooling. Supporting the cultural intelligence hypothesis and contradicting the hypothesis that humans simply have more “general intelligence,” we found that the children and chimpanzees had very similar cognitive skills for dealing with the physical world but that the children had more sophisticated cognitive skills than either of the ape species for dealing with the social world.
Author(s): David Buttelmann, Malinda Carpenter, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello
Source: Developmental Science. Oxford: Jul 2007. Vol. 10, Iss. 4; pg. F31
Abstract: Human infants imitate others’ actions ‘rationally’: they copy a demonstrator’s action when that action is freely chosen, but less when it is forced by some constraint (Gergely, Bekkering & Kiraly, 2002). We investigated whether enculturated chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) also imitate rationally. Using Gergely and colleagues’ (2002) basic procedure, a human demonstrator operated each of six apparatuses using an unusual body part (he pressed it with his forehead or foot, or sat on it). In the Hands Free condition he used this unusual means even though his hands were free, suggesting a free choice. In the Hands Occupied condition he used the unusual means only because his hands were occupied, suggesting a constrained or forced choice. Like human infants, chimpanzees imitated the modeled action more often in the Hands Free than in the Hands Occupied condition. Enculturated chimpanzees thus have some understanding of the rationality of others’ intentional actions, and use this understanding when imitating others.
Author(s): Victoria Horner, Andrew Whiten
Source: Journal of Comparative Psychology. Washington: Feb 2007. Vol. 121, Iss. 1; pg. 12
Abstract: A trap-tube task was used to determine whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) who observed a model’s errors and successes could master the task in fewer trials than those who saw only successes. Two- to 7-year-old chimpanzees and 3- to 4-year-old children did not benefit from observing errors and found the task difficult. Two of the 6 chimpanzees developed a successful anticipatory strategy but showed no evidence of representing the core causal relations involved in trapping. Three- to 4-year-old children showed a similar limitation and tended to copy the actions of the demonstrator, irrespective of their causal relevance. Five- to 6-year-old children were able to master the task but did not appear to be influenced by social learning or benefit from observing errors.
Author(s): Claudio Tennie, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello
Source: Ethology. Oxford: Dec 2006. Vol. 112, Iss. 12; pg. 1159
Abstract: All four species of great apes and young human children (12-24 mo of age) were administered an imitation task designed to distinguish between results learning (emulation) and action learning (imitation). Some subjects were exposed to a demonstrator either pushing or pulling a door to open a box, whereas others simply saw the door of the box opening itself in one of the two directions (the ghost control). Most of the apes successfully opened the box in both experimental conditions, as well as in a baseline condition, but without being influenced either by the demonstrator’s actions or by the door’s motions. In contrast, human children over 12 mo of age were influenced by the demonstration: the 18-mo-olds were influenced by the demonstrator’s actions, and the 24-mo-olds were influenced both by the demonstrator’s actions and by the door’s motions in the ghost control. These results provide support for the hypothesis that human children have a greater propensity than great apes for focusing either on a demonstrator’s action or on the result of their action, as needed, in social learning situations.
Author(s): Victoria Horner, Andrew Whiten, Emma Flynn, Frans B M de Waal
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Washington: Sep 12, 2006. Vol. 103, Iss. 37; pg. 13878
Abstract: Observational studies of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have revealed population-specific differences in behavior, thought to represent cultural variation. Field studies have also reported behaviors indicative of cultural learning, such as close observation of adult skills by infants, and the use of similar foraging techniques within a population over many generations. Although experimental studies have shown that chimpanzees are able to learn complex behaviors by observation, it is unclear how closely these studies simulate the learning environment found in the wild. In the present study we have used a diffusion chain paradigm, whereby a behavior is passed from one individual to the next in a linear sequence in an attempt to simulate intergenerational transmission of a foraging skill. Using a powerful three-group, two-action methodology, we found that alternative methods used to obtain food from a foraging device (“lift door” versus “slide door”) were accurately transmitted along two chains of six and five chimpanzees, respectively, such that the last chimpanzee in the chain used the same method as the original trained model. The fidelity of transmission within each chain is remarkable given that several individuals in the no-model control group were able to discover either method by individual exploration. A comparative study with human children revealed similar results. This study is the first to experimentally demonstrate the linear transmission of alternative foraging techniques by non-human primates. Our results show that chimpanzees have a capacity to sustain local traditions across multiple simulated generations.
Author(s): Andrew Whiten
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Washington: Aug 7, 2007. Vol. 104, Iss. 32; pg. 13046
Abstract: People are willing to punish others at a personal cost, and this apparently antisocial tendency can stabilize cooperation. What motivates humans to punish noncooperators is likely a combination of aversion to both unfair outcomes and unfair intentions. Here we report a pair of studies in which captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) did not inflict costs on conspecifics by knocking food away if the outcome alone was personally disadvantageous but did retaliate against conspecifics who actually stole the food from them. Like humans, chimpanzees retaliate against personally harmful actions, but unlike humans, they are indifferent to simply personally disadvantageous outcomes and are therefore not spiteful.
Author(s): Alex Mesoudi, Andrew Whiten, Robin Dunbar
Source: British Journal of Psychology. London: Aug 2006. Vol. 97 Part 3. pg. 405
Abstract: Evolutionary theories concerning the origins of human intelligence suggest that cultural transmission might be biased toward social over non-social information. This was tested by passing social and non-social information along multiple chains of participants. Experiment 1 found that gossip, defined as information about intense third-party social relationships, was transmitted with significantly greater accuracy and in significantly greater quantity than equivalent non-social information concerning individual behaviour or the physical environment. Experiment 2 replicated this finding controlling for narrative coherence, and additionally found that information concerning everyday non-gossip social interactions was transmitted just as well as the intense gossip interactions. It was therefore concluded that human cultural transmission is biased toward information concerning social interactions over equivalent non-social information.
Author(s): Rebecca Saxe, Lindsey J Powell
Source: Psychological Science. New York: Aug 2006. Vol. 17, Iss. 8; pg. 692
Abstract: Evidence from developmental psychology suggests that representing the contents of other people’s thoughts and beliefs depends on a component of reasoning about other minds (theory of mind) that is distinct from the earlier-developing mental-state concepts for goals, perceptions, and feelings. To provide converging evidence, the current study investigated the substrate of the late-developing process in adult brains. Three regions–the right and left temporo-parietal junction and the posterior cingulate–responded selectively when subjects read about a protagonist’s thoughts, but not when they read about other subjective, internal states or other socially relevant information about a person. By contrast, the medial prefrontal cortex responded equivalently in all of these story conditions, a result consistent with a broader role for medial prefrontal cortex in general social cognition. These data support the hypothesis that the early- and late-developing components of theory of mind rely on separate psychological and neural mechanisms, and that these mechanisms remain distinct into adulthood.
Author(s): Felix Warneken, Frances Chen, Michael Tomasello
Source: Child Development. Chicago: May/Jun 2006. Vol. 77, Iss. 3; pg. 640
Abstract: Human children 18-24 months of age and 3 young chimpanzees interacted in 4 cooperative activities with a human adult partner. The human children successfully participated in cooperative problem-solving activities and social games, whereas the chimpanzees were uninterested in the social games. As an experimental manipulation, in each task the adult partner stopped participating at a specific point during the activity. All children produced at least one communicative attempt to reengage him, perhaps suggesting that they were trying to reinstate a shared goal. No chimpanzee ever made any communicative attempt to reengage the partner. These results are interpreted as evidence for a uniquely human form of cooperative activity involving shared intentionality that emerges in the second year of life.
Author(s): Alicia P Melis, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello
Source: Journal of Comparative Psychology. Washington: May 2006. Vol. 120, Iss. 2; pg. 154
Abstract: Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) competed with a human for food. The human sat inside a booth, with 1 piece of food to her left and 1 to her right, which she could retract from her chimpanzee competitor’s reach as needed. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees could approach either side of the booth unseen but then had to reach through 1 of 2 tunnels (1 clear, 1 opaque) for the food. In Experiment 2, both tunnels were clear and the human was looking away, but 1 of the tunnels made a loud noise when it was opened. Chimpanzees preferentially reached through the opaque tunnel in the first study and the silent tunnel in the second, successfully concealing their taking of the food from the human competitor in both cases. These results suggest that chimpanzees can, in some circumstances, actively manipulate the visual and auditory perception of others by concealing information from them.
Author(s): Felix Warneken, Michael Tomasello
Source: Science. Washington: Mar 3, 2006. Vol. 311, Iss. 5765; pg. 1301
Abstract: Human beings routinely help others to achieve their goals, even when the helper receives no immediate benefit and the person helped is a stranger. Such altruistic behaviors (toward non-kin) are extremely rare evolutionarily, with some theorists even proposing that they are uniquely human. Here we show that human children as young as 18 months of age (prelinguistic or just-linguistic) quite readily help others to achieve their goals in a variety of different situations. This requires both an understanding of others’ goals and an altruistic motivation to help. In addition, we demonstrate similar though less robust skills and motivations in three young chimpanzees.
Author(s): Christiane Schwier, Catharine van Maanen, Malinda Carpenter, Michael Tomasello
Source: Infancy. Mahwah: 2006. Vol. 10, Iss. 3; pg. 303
Abstract: Gergely, Bekkering, and Kiraly (2002) demonstrated that 14-month-old infants engage in “rational imitation.” To investigate the development and flexibility of this skill, we tested 12-month-olds on a different but analogous task. Infants watched as an adult made a toy animal use a particular action to get to an endpoint. In 1 condition there was a barrier that prevented a more straightforward action and so gave the actor no choice but to use the demonstrated action. In the other condition there was no barrier, so the actor had a free choice to use the demonstrated action or not. Twelve-month-olds showed the same pattern of results as in Gergely and colleagues’ study: They copied the particular action demonstrated more often when the adult freely chose to use the action than when she was forced to use it. Twelve-month-olds, too, thus show an understanding of others’ intentions as rational choices and can use this understanding in cultural learning contexts.
Author(s): Michael Tomasello, Malinda Carpenter, Josep Call, Tanya Behne, Henrike Moll
Source: Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Cambridge: Oct 2005. Vol. 28, Iss. 5; pg. 675, 17 pgs
Abstract: We propose that the crucial difference between human cognition and that of other species is the ability to participate with others in collaborative activities with shared goals and intentions: shared intentionality. Participation in such activities requires not only especially powerful forms of intention reading and cultural learning, but also a unique motivation to share psychological states with others and unique forms of cognitive representation for doing so. The result of participating in these activities is species-unique forms of cultural cognition and evolution, enabling everything from the creation and use of linguistic symbols to the construction of social norms and individual beliefs to the establishment of social institutions. In support of this proposal we argue and present evidence that great apes (and some children with autism) understand the basics of intentional action, but they still do not participate in activities involving joint intentions and attention (shared intentionality). Human children’s skills of shared intentionality develop gradually during the first 14 months of life as two ontogenetic pathways intertwine: (1) the general ape line of understanding others as animate, goal-directed, and intentional agents; and (2) a species-unique motivation to share emotions, experience, and activities with other persons. The developmental outcome is children’s ability to construct dialogic cognitive representations, which enable them to participate in earnest in the collectivity that is human cognition.
Author(s): Malinda Carpenter, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello
Source: Developmental Science. Oxford: Jan 2005. Vol. 8, Iss. 1; pg. F13
Abstract: In the context of an imitation game, 12- and 18-month-old infants saw an adult do such things as make a toy mouse hop across a mat (with sound effects). In one condition (House), the adult ended by placing the mouse in a toy house, whereas in another condition (No House) there was no house present at the final location. Infants at both ages usually simply put the mouse in the house (ignoring the hopping motion and sound effects) in the House condition, presumably because they interpreted the adult’s action in terms of this final goal and so ignored the behavioral means. In contrast, infants copied the adult’s action (both the hopping motion and the sound effects) when no house was present, presumably because here infants saw the action itself as the adult’s only goal. From very early, infants’ social learning is flexible: infants focus on and copy either the end or the means of an adult action as required by the context.
Author(s): Christine A Caldwell, Andrew Whiten
Source: Animal Behaviour. London: Jun 2003. Vol. 65, Iss. 6; pg. 1085
Abstract: We investigated the effect of close social interaction on the ability to learn a new behaviour via observation. The task chosen involved sliding a small door horizontally to gain access to a food reward. We divided 59 common marmosets into five groups that received different pretest experience: observation of a trained demonstrator through wire mesh (O); joint interaction with a trained demonstrator allowing the possibility of scrounging (S); individual interaction with the apparatus (I); joint interaction with another naive individual (J); and no prior experience (control, C). Significantly more individuals from the scrounging group learned the new behaviour, compared with the group (O) that had purely observational experience. When animals from group O were later allowed to interact jointly with a trained demonstrator, the success rate of this group significantly increased. Social interaction with the demonstrator may have facilitated learning because it allowed subjects to understand the relation between the apparatus and the food or because social support facilitated interaction with the apparatus. However, results from the other conditions suggest that these factors alone do not account for the size of the effect. Thus, contrary to previous investigations of this phenomenon, scrounging facilitated social learning. This result probably depended on a complex interaction of a number of factors, including individual learning opportunities, social support and closer attention to the demonstrator.
Author(s): Tara S Stoinski, Andrew Whiten
Source: Journal of Comparative Psychology. Washington: Sep 2003. Vol. 117, Iss. 3; pg. 272
Abstract: Increasing evidence for behavioral differences between populations of primates has created a resurgence of interest in examining mechanisms of information transfer between individuals. The authors examined the social transmission of information in 15 captive orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) using a simulated food-processing task. Experimental subjects were shown 1 of 2 methods for removing a suite of defenses on an “artificial fruit.” Control subjects were given no prior exposure before interacting with the fruit. Observing a model provided a functional advantage in the task, as significantly more experimental than control subjects opened the fruit. Within the experimental groups, the authors found a trend toward differences in the actual behaviors used to remove 1 of the defenses. Results support observations from the wild implying horizontal transfer of information in orangutans and show that a number of social learning processes are likely to be involved in the transfer of knowledge in this species.
Author(s): Tara S Stoinski, Andrew Whiten
Source: Journal of Comparative Psychology. Washington: Sep 2003. Vol. 117, Iss. 3; pg. 272
Abstract: Increasing evidence for behavioral differences between populations of primates has created a resurgence of interest in examining mechanisms of information transfer between individuals. The authors examined the social transmission of information in 15 captive orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) using a simulated food-processing task. Experimental subjects were shown 1 of 2 methods for removing a suite of defenses on an “artificial fruit.” Control subjects were given no prior exposure before interacting with the fruit. Observing a model provided a functional advantage in the task, as significantly more experimental than control subjects opened the fruit. Within the experimental groups, the authors found a trend toward differences in the actual behaviors used to remove 1 of the defenses. Results support observations from the wild implying horizontal transfer of information in orangutans and show that a number of social learning processes are likely to be involved in the transfer of knowledge in this species.
Author(s): Saxe, Rebecca R., Ph.D.
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003; AAT 0805945
Abstract: To have a theory of mind is to be able to explain and predict human behaviours and experiences in terms of mental states: beliefs, desires, goals, thoughts, and feelings. In chapters 1 and 2, I use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural substrate of the theory of mind, in healthy human adults. I conclude (1) that specialised brain regions, including a region of the temporo-parietal junction (the TPJ-M), are selectively engaged when people reason about the contents of other people’s beliefs, and (2) that the brain regions associated with belief attribution appear to be distinct from other regions engaged in the representation of goal-directed action, including a region of posterior superior temporal sulcus (the pSTS-VA). In chapters 3 and 4, I consider the implications of these and other neuroimaging results for the mental structure of theory of mind, based on proposals derived from developmental psychology and philosophy. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Author(s): Malinda Carpenter, Josep Call, Michael Tomasello
Source: Child Development. Chicago: Sep/Oct 2002. Vol. 73, Iss. 5; pg. 1431, 11 pgs
Abstract: This study investigated children’s understanding of others’ intentions in a social learning context. Specifically, it investigated whether knowing an adult’s prior intention before the adult gives a demonstration influences what children learn from the demonstration. In the five main experimental conditions, ninety-six 2-year-old children watched as an experimenter (E) pulled out a pin and opened the door of a box. Children in two No Prior Intention conditions saw this demonstration alone or paired with an irrelevant action. Children in three Prior Intention conditions knew what E was trying to do before the demonstration: they first saw E either attempt unsuccessfully to open the door, or visit and open several other containers, or they first saw that the door opened. Children opened the box themselves more often in each of these three conditions than in the two No Prior Intention conditions, even though children in all five conditions saw the exact same demonstration of how to open the box.
Author(s): Andrew Whiten
Source: Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Cambridge: Apr 2001. Vol. 24, Iss. 2; pg. 359, 2 pgs
Abstract: Recent evidence suggests imitation is more developed in some cetaceans than the authors imply. Apart from apes, only dolphins have so far shown a grasp of what it is to imitate; moreover dolphins ape humans more clearly than do apes.
Project coordinated by Dr. Suchismita Sen of the Pennsylvania State University Religious Studies Department.