The interactive shaping of social learning in transmission chains.

International audienceThis study investigated the social transmission of memories and skills collected from a collaborative cooking task (ravioli-making) and across transmission chains. The transmission over three generations of pairs of participants occurred under two conditions. In the interactive condition, transmissions over generations occurred in face-to-face conversations, whereas in the non-interactive condition, generations video-recorded their instructions to the next generations. We analyzed the effects of verbal and embodied features of informational transfer on task performance. Our results show that performances improved over generations regardless of interactivity. In the discussion we suggest that tools (like cooking utensils) may have operated as cultural affordances encapsulating and transmitting important cultural knowledge for the successful completion of the task

Cultural transmission in a food preparation task: The role of interactivity, innovation and storytelling

Some individuals seek to enhance their cognitive capabilities through the use of pharmacology. Such behavior entails potential health risks and raises ethical concerns. The aim of this study was to examine whether a precursor of behavior, ethical judgement towards the use of existing biological cognitive enhancers (e.g., coffee, legal and illegal drugs), is shaped by the perceived characteristics of these cognitive enhancers. Students and employees completed an online questionnaire which measured perceived characteristics of 15 substances presented as potential cognitive enhancers and a measure of ethical judgement towards these cognitive enhancers. Results of mixed model regression analyzes show that ethical judgement is more favourable when cognitive enhancers are perceived as being legal, familiar, efficient, and safe for users' health, supporting all hypotheses. Results further show that 36% of variance (in the null model) lies at the level of cognitive enhancers and 21% at the level of participants. In conclusion, cognitive enhancers vary widely in terms of ethical judgement, which is explained by the perception of the mentioned characteristics. Implications regarding prevention and policy-making are discussed

Memorias Adaptables para la Construcción de Identidades Colectivas

ResumenLa investigación sobre la maleabilidad de la memoria humana ha mostrado cómo podemos incorporar información errónea dadas ciertas condiciones sociales. Esta línea de investigación ha llevado a psicólogos cognitivos a centrarse en los errores de la memoria y la desinformación que puede ser causados por contagio social.  Basado en el mismo efecto de contagio social, estudios recientes se han centrado en las características potencialmente adaptables de la memoria. Dicha adaptabilidad nos facilita desarollar la confianza en los miembros de los grupos sociales a los que pertenecemos. Esto nos permite promover la cooperación creando las condiciones para la formación y mantenimiento de ‘comunidades de memoria’,  que son la base para la construcción y la transmisión de memoria colectivas.Si por un momento nos distanciamos de los actuales debates filosóficos acerca de si los grupos pueden tener una mente, y por lo tanto ellos mismos pueden formar memorias colectivas, ésta puede ser definida como memorias individuales compartidas en una comunidad, que le confieren identidad a la comunidad. Las memorias colectivas pueden pertenecer a un proyecto identitario que los miembros de grupos sociales emplean para conservar su historia y mantener cohesión. El objetivo de nuestro artículo es investigar cuáles son los factores sociales y cognitivos que promueven la formación de memorias colectivas en interacciones sociales. Para esto discutimos numerosos estudios en psicología social, cultural y cognitiva que se han centrado en encontrar y explicar los beneficios y costos de formar memorias colectivas. La evidencia empírica sugiere que la adaptabilidad de la memoria humana, y en consecuencia la capacidad que grupos sociales tienen para formar memorias colectivas sobre las cuales basar sus identidades sociales parece ser bastante independiente de la veracidad y precisión de tales recuerdos.

The Interactive Shaping of Social Learning in Transmission Chains

This study investigated the social transmission of memoriesand skills collected from a collaborative cooking task (ravioli-making) and across transmission chains. The transmissionover three generations of pairs of participants occurred undertwo conditions. In the interactive condition, transmissionsover generations occurred in face-to-face conversations,whereas in the non-interactive condition, generations video-recorded their instructions to the next generations. Weanalyzed the effects of verbal and embodied features ofinformational transfer on task performance. Our results showthat performances improved over generations regardless ofinteractivity. In the discussion we suggest that tools (likecooking utensils) may have operated as cultural affordancesencapsulating and transmitting important cultural knowledgefor the successful completion of the task