Imitation explains the propagation, not the stability of animal culture

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 277; no. 1681; pp. 651 - 659
• Main Authors: Claidière, Nicolas, Sperber, Dan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 22.02.2010
• Subjects: Animal Culture; Animals; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Carrots; Chimpanzees; Communities; Cultural Evolution; Culture; Ecological psychology; Foraging; Imitation; Imitative Behavior - physiology; Learning - physiology; Models, Theoretical; Observational learning; Pan troglodytes; Rats; Social behavior; Social influence
• ISSN: 0962-8452; 1471-2954; 1471-2954; 1471-2945
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1615

For acquired behaviour to count as cultural, two conditions must be met: it must propagate in a social group, and it must remain stable across generations in the process of propagation. It is commonly assumed that imitation is the mechanism that explains both the spread of animal culture and its stability. We review the literature on transmission chain studies in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and other animals, and we use a formal model to argue that imitation, which may well play a major role in the propagation of animal culture, cannot be considered faithful enough to explain its stability. We consider the contribution that other psychological and ecological factors might make to the stability of animal culture observed in the wild.