Modelling cultural selection on biological fitness to integrate social transmission and adaptive explanations for human behaviour

Micheletti, Alberto J. C.

doi:10.1017/ehs.2020.12

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This is not to deny that fostering is a cultural practice shaped by social norms and expectations (most importantly, moral obligations to kin). Inclusive fitness interests can shape the spread of a trait even when it is culturally transmitted; in other words, some cultural selection processes favor cultural traits because they benefit the bearer’s biological fitness (this perspective applies the theoretical framework of behavioral ecology to cultural traits without addressing processes that are not related to inclusive fitness; see Birch & Heyes, 2021 ; Micheletti, 2020 ; Micheletti et al, 2022 , 2023 ). Our findings are also consistent with patterns seen in other Pacific Island nations, where children whose parents are unable to care for them usually live with extended kin, who act as a safety net in such situations (UNICEF, 2017 :144, 153).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu

Brandl,

Emmott,

Mace

2023

Hum Nat

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Alloparenting, wherein people provide care to children who are not their biological offspring, is a key aspect of human child-rearing. In the Pacific, many children are adopted or fostered by custodial alloparents even when both biological parents are still alive. From a behavioral ecology perspective, such behaviors are puzzling: why parent someone else’s child at your expense? Furthermore, little is known about how these arrangements are made in Pacific Islander societies today, who provides care, and what kinds of outcomes fostered children experience. A better understanding of these proximate factors may help reveal the ultimate drivers behind custodial alloparenting. Here, we report findings from a survey carried out with the caregivers of 282 children in rural areas of Vanuatu, an island nation in Melanesia. Most fostered and adopted children lived with relatives such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents (87.5%) rather than unrelated caregivers, with a strong preference for maternal kin. The most common reasons for these arrangements were that the parents had separated (16.7%), were engaging in labor migration (27.1%), or a combination of both (27.1%). Results for investment in children’s education and their educational outcomes were mixed, although children removed from crisis situations did more poorly than children removed for aspirational reasons. Our findings suggest that custodial alloparenting helps families adapt to socioeconomic transitions and changing marriage practices. Outcomes may depend on a range of factors, such as the reason children were transferred out of the natal home to begin with.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu

Brandl,

Emmott,

Mace

2023

Hum Nat

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“…Put differently, an adaptationist approach to psychology predicts that producers should have a motivation to generate or modify cultural items if and only if this very activity will eventually have a positive impact on their inclusive biological fitness. That is, the eventual success of a given cultural item, that is, the cultural fitness of that item, is conditioned by the effect of producing that item on the biological fitness of its producer (see also El Mouden, André, Morin, & Nettle, 2014 ; Micheletti, 2020 ; Nettle, 2020 ). This inclusive benefit to the producer may be accompanied, depending on the situation, by a benefit or a cost to the inclusive fitness of the consumer.…”

Section: Production Is Not Consumption: Different Mechanisms Differen...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural evolution from the producers’ standpoint

André¹,

Baumard²,

Boyer

2023

Evolut. Hum. Sci.

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Standard approaches to cultural evolution focus on the recipients or consumers. This does not take into account the fitness costs incurred in producing the behaviors or artifacts that become cultural, i.e., widespread in a social group. We argue that cultural evolution models should focus on these fitness costs and benefits of cultural production particularly in the domain of “symbolic” culture. In this approach, cultural products can be considered as a part of the extended phenotype of producers, which can affect the fitness of recipients in a positive way (through cooperation) but also in a detrimental way (through manipulation and exploitation). Taking the producers’ perspective may help explain the specific features of many kinds of cultural products.

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“…Demographic circumstances, for example, are expected to shape the pool of potential marriage partners (Hajnal, 1963 ). Socioeconomic circumstances might also influence the potential fitness returns to particular marriage decisions (Ross et al, 2018 ), and thus affect people's preferences for them (Borgerhoff Mulder & Ross, 2019 ; Micheletti, 2020 ). In this paper, we investigate whether – and how – changes in the occurrence of first cousin marriage are associated with changes in the demographic composition of the pool of eligible partners and the potential fitness returns to marrying a first cousin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-cousin marriage among Tsimane forager–horticulturalists during demographic transition and market integration

Dalzero,

Beheim,

Kaplan

et al. 2024

Evolut. Hum. Sci.

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Although still prevalent in many human societies, the practice of cousin marriage has precipitously declined in populations undergoing rapid demographic and socioeconomic change. However, it is still unclear whether changes in the structure of the marriage pool or changes in the fitness-relevant consequences of cousin marriage more strongly influence the frequency of cousin marriage. Here, we use genealogical data collected by the Tsimane Health and Life History Project to show that there is a small but measurable decline in the frequency of first cross-cousin marriage since the mid-twentieth century. Such changes are linked to concomitant changes in the pool of potential spouses in recent decades. We find only very modest differences in fitness-relevant demographic measures between first cousin and non-cousin marriages. These differences have been diminishing as the Tsimane have become more market integrated. The factors that influence preferences for cousin marriage appear to be less prevalent now than in the past, but cultural inertia might slow the pace of change in marriage norms. Overall, our findings suggest that cultural changes in marriage practices reflect underlying societal changes that shape the pool of potential spouses.

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Modelling cultural selection on biological fitness to integrate social transmission and adaptive explanations for human behaviour

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu

Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu

Cultural evolution from the producers’ standpoint

Cross-cousin marriage among Tsimane forager–horticulturalists during demographic transition and market integration

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