Culture's building blocks: investigating cultural evolution in a LEGO construction task

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Anthropology
• Cultural Evolution Studies
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Cultural evolution and transmission are complex, with no established scientific framework comparable to biological evolution.
• Applying evolutionary theory to culture is challenging due to difficulties in defining appropriate time scales and units of analysis.
• Culture's vastness requires reduction into manageable "building blocks" for scientific investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel model for scientifically investigating cultural processes.
• To analyze the development and transmission of conventions in a controlled environment.
• To explore the potential of interactive tasks as a microcosm for studying cultural evolution.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a series of LEGO construction tasks to observe human interaction and convention formation.
• Analyzed patterns in the selection of building bricks and car design features across consecutive sessions.
• Employed a novel methodology focusing on interactive design and assembly.

Main Results:

• Observed a surprising pattern in the selection of LEGO building bricks.
• Identified predictable patterns in the features of car designs developed over time.
• Demonstrated the emergence and transmission of conventions within the LEGO task.

Conclusions:

• The LEGO construction task provides a viable microcosm for studying cultural evolution and transmission.
• The findings support a novel methodology for scientifically investigating cultural processes.
• This approach offers a way to analyze the "building blocks" of culture in a tractable manner.