Abstract
Individuals cope with their worlds by using information. In humans in particular, an important potential source of information is cultural tradition. Evolutionary models have examined when it is advantageous to use cultural information, and psychological studies have examined the cognitive biases and priorities that may transform cultural traditions over time. However, these studies have not generally incorporated the idea that individuals vary in state. I argue that variation in state is likely to influence the relative payoffs of using cultural information versus gathering personal information; and also that people in different states will have different cognitive biases and priorities, leading them to transform cultural information in different ways. I explore hunger as one example of state variable likely to have consequences for cultural evolution. Variation in state has the potential to explain why cultural traditions and dynamics are so variable between individuals and populations. It offers evolutionarily-grounded links between the ecology in which individuals live, individual-level cognitive processes, and patterns of culture. However, incorporating heterogeneity of state also makes the modelling of cultural evolution more complex, particularly if the distribution of states is itself influenced by the distribution of cultural beliefs and practices.
Highlights
Individuals cope with their worlds by making use of information, information being defined as a reduction in uncertainty about future events
There are a number of distinct theoretical literatures on cultural information use viewed from an evolutionary perspective. These deal with such questions as when it is advantageous to rely on cultural information and when it is not; the dynamics of cultural traditions; and with how cognitive and motivational factors influence the kinds of information that is retained
I have suggested that models of human reliance on cultural information should incorporate the idea that individuals vary in state; that the fitness costs and benefits of different information-use strategies are likely to be state dependent; and that the variable cognitive priorities and biases associated with different states are likely to influence the direction of cultural evolution
Summary
Individuals cope with their worlds by making use of information, information being defined as a reduction in uncertainty about future events. Boyd and Richerson, 1985; Henrich, 2004; Henrich and McElreath, 2003; Mesoudi, 2016; Richerson and Boyd, 2005; Sperber, 1996, 1985) These deal with such questions as when it is advantageous to rely on cultural information and when it is not; the dynamics of cultural traditions; and with how cognitive and motivational factors influence the kinds of information that is retained. These literatures have often, for simplicity, assumed a rather undifferentiated view of individuals
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