On optimal learning schedules and the marginal value of cumulative cultural evolution.

Details

Ressource 1Download: BIB_4C3190434D08.P001.pdf (2173.58 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Author's accepted manuscript
Serval ID
serval:BIB_4C3190434D08
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
On optimal learning schedules and the marginal value of cumulative cultural evolution.
Journal
Evolution
Author(s)
Lehmann L., Wakano J.Y., Aoki K.
ISSN
1558-5646 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0014-3820
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2013
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
67
Number
5
Pages
1435-1445
Language
english
Abstract
The age-dependent choice between expressing individual learning (IL) or social learning (SL) affects cumulative cultural evolution. A learning schedule in which SL precedes IL is supportive of cumulative culture because the amount of nongenetically encoded adaptive information acquired by previous generations can be absorbed by an individual and augmented. Devoting time and energy to learning, however, reduces the resources available for other life-history components. Learning schedules and life history thus coevolve. Here, we analyze a model where individuals may have up to three distinct life stages: "infants" using IL or oblique SL, "juveniles" implementing IL or horizontal SL, and adults obtaining material resources with learned information. We study the dynamic allocation of IL and SL within life stages and how this coevolves with the length of the learning stages. Although no learning may be evolutionary stable, we find conditions where cumulative cultural evolution can be selected for. In that case, the evolutionary stable learning schedule causes individuals to use oblique SL during infancy and a mixture between IL and horizontal SL when juvenile. We also find that the selected pattern of oblique SL increases the amount of information in the population, but horizontal SL does not do so.
Keywords
Cumulative cultural evolution, optimal learning, life history, Rogers' parado
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
05/12/2012 20:33
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:00
Usage data