The Development of Teaching and Social Learning Across Cultures

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Variation in human cultures is unique among animals in its extent, complexity, and modification over generations. Humans display a wide repertoire of socially acquired and transmitted behaviors that vary between groups and change over time. Adaptations for social learning - acquiring, creating, and transmitting cultural knowledge - provide the foundation for human culture. These learning mechanisms should be flexible, enabling individuals to respond to diverse cultural contexts. The objective of this cross-cultural research project is to study the psychological processes that allow us to learn, create, and transmit culture. Continuity and variation in child development within and across populations will be documented and explained. Multiple methods - observation, interviews, and experiments - will be used to examine the psychological foundations of cultural transmission practices (teaching) and acquisition strategies (social learning) across cultures. This project partners five developmental psychologists, two evolutionary anthropologists, and an economic psychologist, all with expertise in cross-cultural research. The dearth of systematic research outside of Western cultural contexts presents a major impediment to theoretical progress in the psychological sciences. There is a need for a new path forward in developmental psychological science to better understand global diversity in human development. The results of these studies have the potential to inform the development of international education programs by increasing understanding of variation in teaching and social learning practices around the world, allowing teachers to adapt to the diverse ways that people learn. This research team will work closely with local communities, at our domestic and international field sites, to contribute to the preservation of information about the beliefs, values, and practices of these unique cultural contexts. This breadth and depth of study will help strengthen communities in the United States and elsewhere by showing ways for them to connect, grow and adapt. A comprehensive account of teaching and early social learning requires systematic study of childrearing practices and beliefs. The objective of this research is to document and explain continuity and variation in teaching practices and social learning strategies within and across populations that represent the diversity of childrearing practices. This research examines the interaction between the teaching practices of caregiving adults and peers and children's social learning across populations. First, naturally occurring teaching and social learning practices will be examined using focused following, and structured interview data on beliefs about teaching and social learning will be collected. Second, standardized observational data will be collected to assess the teaching practices of adults and peers in the context of imitation and joint problem solving tasks. The naturalistic and standardized assessments of teaching practices will be compared to children's social learning. The observational and experimental data will be compared to examine the extent to which the teaching practices assessed in experimental tasks are representative of teaching practices that occurs in everyday life. Variability in teaching style depending on content, difficulty, and age and status of the learner will be examined. This research will provide the first systematic cross-cultural account of teaching by caregiving adults and peers and children's social learning. Collecting observational, interview, and experimental data will yield a far richer picture of cultural continuity and variation in teaching and learning. This project is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering.