Max-Planck-InstitutNews
Contact
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
phone: +49 (341) 3550 - 0
fax: +49 (341) 3550 - 119
e-mail: info@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Events
Migration, acculturation, and the maintenance of between-group cultural variation
November 01, 2018 11:00
Speaker: Alex Mesoudi (Biosciences, University of Exeter, UK)
Talk at the Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture
Location:
Open Seminar Area (HBEC Department)
Abstract:
What maintains the extensive between-group cultural variation seen in our species? I will talk about recent work that has begun to explore this question, much of it centred on migration and acculturation (the latter defined as psychological and behavioural change due to migration). In the first part I will talk about surveys of culturally-variable psychological measures (e.g. individualism, collectivism, attributional style, self-serving bias) conducted with multiple generations of British Bangladeshis living in East London (Mesoudi, Magid & Hussain 2016, PLOS ONE). We found that, for those measures that differed between 1st generation British Bangladeshis and local non-migrants, the 2nd generation British Bangladeshis were intermediate between their 1st generation parental generation and the local “Western” values. This indicates substantial (but not complete) one-generation acculturation. Subsequent models (Mesoudi, 2018, BioRxiv) have attempted to explore acculturation more generally, extending classic Boyd & Richerson conformity models to multiple groups and traits. In the second part, I will report experimental findings showing cultural variation in social learning (Mesoudi, Chang, Murray & Lu 2015, Proc R Soc B). Here we found higher rates of social learning in mainland Chinese participants, compared to lower (and equal) rates in white Brits, in Hong Kong Chinese, and in Chinese immigrants in the UK. I will speculate on what the ‘social learning of social learning’, and cultural variation in social learning in general, might mean for human cultural evolution (Mesoudi, Chang,
Dall & Thornton 2016, TREE).
Contact:
Elvira Möhring
E-mail: info
[>>> Please replace the brackets with an AT sign! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Website: http://www.eva.mpg.de
Open Seminar Area (HBEC Department)
Abstract:
What maintains the extensive between-group cultural variation seen in our species? I will talk about recent work that has begun to explore this question, much of it centred on migration and acculturation (the latter defined as psychological and behavioural change due to migration). In the first part I will talk about surveys of culturally-variable psychological measures (e.g. individualism, collectivism, attributional style, self-serving bias) conducted with multiple generations of British Bangladeshis living in East London (Mesoudi, Magid & Hussain 2016, PLOS ONE). We found that, for those measures that differed between 1st generation British Bangladeshis and local non-migrants, the 2nd generation British Bangladeshis were intermediate between their 1st generation parental generation and the local “Western” values. This indicates substantial (but not complete) one-generation acculturation. Subsequent models (Mesoudi, 2018, BioRxiv) have attempted to explore acculturation more generally, extending classic Boyd & Richerson conformity models to multiple groups and traits. In the second part, I will report experimental findings showing cultural variation in social learning (Mesoudi, Chang, Murray & Lu 2015, Proc R Soc B). Here we found higher rates of social learning in mainland Chinese participants, compared to lower (and equal) rates in white Brits, in Hong Kong Chinese, and in Chinese immigrants in the UK. I will speculate on what the ‘social learning of social learning’, and cultural variation in social learning in general, might mean for human cultural evolution (Mesoudi, Chang,
Dall & Thornton 2016, TREE).
Contact:
Elvira Möhring
E-mail: info
[>>> Please replace the brackets with an AT sign! <<<]eva.mpg.deWebsite: http://www.eva.mpg.de
The origins and evolution of tuberculosis in the Americas
November 30, 2018 14:00
Speaker: Anne C. Stone, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, USA
The Institute Seminar Series
Location:
MPI-EVA, Lecture hall, 2nd floor
Abstract:
- 14:00 Anne C. Stone: The origins and evolution of tuberculosis in the Americas
- 15:30 Discussion and soft drinks just outside the lecture hall
Some information on the speaker and a list of her publications can be found at https://shesc.asu.edu/people/anne-stone
The series featuring internal and external speakers takes place roughly every 1-2 months on Friday early afternoons. The committee organizing the seminar series consists of: Bret Beheim, Catherine Crockford, Stephanie Melillo, Mark Stoneking, Sandra Jacob and Jörg Noack. Please contact any of them with comments or suggestions.
Contact:
Sandra Jacob, -122 or -156
E-mail: jacob[>>> Please replace the brackets with an AT sign! <<<]eva.mpg.de
MPI-EVA, Lecture hall, 2nd floor
Abstract:
- 14:00 Anne C. Stone: The origins and evolution of tuberculosis in the Americas
- 15:30 Discussion and soft drinks just outside the lecture hall
Some information on the speaker and a list of her publications can be found at https://shesc.asu.edu/people/anne-stone
The series featuring internal and external speakers takes place roughly every 1-2 months on Friday early afternoons. The committee organizing the seminar series consists of: Bret Beheim, Catherine Crockford, Stephanie Melillo, Mark Stoneking, Sandra Jacob and Jörg Noack. Please contact any of them with comments or suggestions.
Contact:
Sandra Jacob, -122 or -156
E-mail: jacob
[>>> Please replace the brackets with an AT sign! <<<]eva.mpg.de