Social learning and culture

• Forms• Audio-vocal learning• Consequences

– Rate of transmission

– Traditions and culture

Forms of social learning

Local enhancement– Locate foraging sites by attending

to others

Social facilitation– Animals feed faster in a group

Observational learning (copying)– Observer modifies behavior after

demonstrator

Imitation– Observer matches behavioral

action and goal

Teaching– Demonstrator performs behavior

only to naïve observer

Local enhancement in cliff swallows

Social facilitation in ravens

Diet transfer in rats

Observational learning

Diet tradition in Norway rats

Imitation in rats?

Pine cone learning in rats, a natural example of imitation?

“Teaching” to mob

Observational conditioning

Social learning dilemma

• Observational learning reduces costs by minimizing errors. Do we expect everyone in a population to use observational learning?

• No, because someone has to figure out the correct behavior first.

• Asocial learners = producers, social learners = scroungers

• Expect social learning to be used selectively

Scrounging can interfere with skill acquisition

Song learning requires a learned “template”

Acquisition of template can be influeced by social experience

Live tutor present

Dialects in white-crowned sparrows - a cultural tradition?

Whistle sharing in bottlenose dolphins

• Males form alliances that persist for many years

• Dolphins can imitate sounds

• Alliance partners share whistle types

Greater spear-nosed bats learn group distinctive calls

Vervet alarm calls

Alarm calls refer to predators

Development of vervet

alarm calls

Vervet infants learn when to call

Rate of change depends on form of transfer

Observational learning can lead to epidemic rates of change

Cream stealing by blue tits

Observational learning can create traditions (culture)

Evolutionary consequences

Transmission type Instinct Imprinting Individual Social

Transmission speed slow slow medium fast

Environmental tracking low medium high medium

Cost of mistakes high high low low

Error frequency low low high medium

Exploitability high medium low medium