ransmission involves intergenerational learning (via teaching and imitation), which makes it distinct from biological transmission. In cultural transmission, individuals are influenced by people other than their biological parents, while in biological transmission only the parents can be the source of influence. Thus, only human beings have “cultural parents” (e.g., members of extended families, teachers, and other influential people). Cultural evolution is also not restricted to intergenerational influences.
Ideas are transmitted within generations so much so that it is even possible for older people to model their behaviour after younger ones. The two processes are also similar in important ways. Both proceed in interaction with the demands of environment. Both involve changes that either stay or get lost depending on how adaptive they are (i.e., how nicely they fit the environment in which they first occurred).
Thus, at the human level, we find evidence for a “dual inheritance” theory. Biological inheritance takes place through genes, while cultural inheritance takes place through memes. The former takes place in a “top-down” manner (i.e. from parents to children), while the latter may also take place in a “bottom-up” manner (i.e.
from children to parents). Dual inheritance theory also shows that although biological and cultural forces may involve different processes, they work as parallel forces, and interact with each other in offering explanation of an individual’s behaviour. socio-cultural context in which it occurs. Human behaviour is fundamentally social.
It involves relationships with other people, reactions to their behaviour, and engagement with innumerable products made available to us by our predecessors. Although many other species are also social like us, human beings are cultural as well. You may ask: what does it mean to be cultural? In order to answer this question, we will need to understand the meaning of culture.
In the simplest terms, culture refers to “the man-made part of the environment”. It comprises diverse products of the behaviour of many people, including ourselves. These products can be material objects (e.g., tools, sculptures), ideas (e.g., categories, norms) or social institutions (e.g., family, school). We find them almost everywhere.
They influence behaviour, although we