Social Learning

Abstract

This chapter focuses on aspects of social learning that are deemed relevant to understanding the differences between humans and animals. It summarizes what animals can learn socially and discusses the nature of social information, showing that many observations of social learning can result from associative learning. It also analyzes the limits of associative explanations and the limits of animal social learning. The chapter details other aspects of social learning, such as its efficiency in the face of combinatorial dilemmas and its role in supporting traditions and culture. It points out how associative learning, augmented with genetic predispositions, can account for most of animal social learning, including stimulus and local enhancement, emulation, and at least some cases of imitation.