Recognizing
a Swan: Socially-Biased Learning
D. M. Fragaszy & E. Visalberghi |
Socially-biased
learning is widespread in the animal kingdom and important in behavioral
biology and in evolution. However, common misconceptions about socially-biased
learning stand in the way of its effective study by psychologists,
Our aim in this paper is to recruit psychologists' interest in socially-biased
learning by (1) defining this domain, and distinguishing it from
imitation, (2) explaining the significance of socially-biased learning
in behavioral evolution, (3) recommending comparative methods to
analyze socially-biased learning in natural settings. Linked examination
of the varying social contexts of practice and the forms and rate
of change in individual practice can indicate the extent to which
social context accounts for differences in learning. We close with
a model of how social bias might modulate learning, and suggest ways
of testing this model. Key words: social learning, niche construction, associative learning, social relationships, traditions |