Cultural Change, Human Activity, and Cognitive Development

Abstract

Differential cognitive performance across cultural contexts has been a standard result in comparative research. Here we discuss how societal changes occurring when a small-scale traditional community incorporates elements from industrialized society may contribute to cognitive development, and we illustrate this with an analysis of the cognitive performances and everyday activities of children from four communities representing a range of such incorporations. We discuss this research in relation to ontogenesis and sociogenesis and propose several processes or mechanisms that may account for cultural and cognitive change in the context of societal absorption of elements common in industrialized settings. Our perspective centers on the claim that changes in cultural features are inextricably linked to changes in human activity and cognition. We also suggest that changes that align small-scale traditional societies in this way provide certain cognitive advantages for individuals raised in, and continuing to live in, traditional societies, and such advantages show up in many cognitive measures. We also use this information in discussing explanations for the Flynn effect. We conclude with consideration of some implications of the perspective we offer.