Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Evolutionary Psychology01:20

Evolutionary Psychology

1.1K
Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...
1.1K
Cognitivism01:17

Cognitivism

3.3K
Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
3.3K
The Role of Culture01:23

The Role of Culture

487
Culture plays a crucial role in shaping self-identity and influencing thought and behavior, a foundational interest within social psychology. The multicultural perspective recognizes that individuals do not exist in a vacuum; instead, their experiences, perceptions, and actions are deeply influenced by the intersecting dimensions of their cultural, ethnic, and social group affiliations.Cultural Influence on Self-Identity and Social PerceptionCultural frameworks inform how individuals define...
487
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

412
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
412
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

909
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
909
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology01:20

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

2.9K
Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
2.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

EVApeCognition: An 18-Year Dataset of Great Ape Cognition.

Scientific data·2026
Same author

The role of future planning, patience, and risk tolerance for prospective reciprocity in human adults.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Behavioural manifestations of human-directed social motivation in dogs.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Disruptive Model That Explains for the Long-Lived Triplet States Observed for 2-Thiocytosine upon UVA Radiation.

ACS omega·2024
Same author

Imitation of Novel Intransitive Body Actions in a Beluga Whale (<i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>): A "Do as Other Does" Study.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI·2023
Same author

Orcas remember what to copy: a deferred and interference-resistant imitation study.

Animal cognition·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems
08:42

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

12.7K

Cognition and Culture in Evolutionary Context.

Fernando Colmenares1, María Victoria Hernández-Lloreda1

  • 1Universidad Complutense(Spain).

The Spanish Journal of Psychology
|January 10, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human and animal adaptation relies on evolved psychology shaped by biological and social factors. While many species share traditions, human culture is unique due to its complexity and cognitive underpinnings like language.

Keywords:
cognitioncomparative approachcultureevolutionary contextsocial learning

More Related Videos

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae
04:51

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

Published on: July 8, 2025

839
Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
14:38

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Published on: November 2, 2012

12.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems
08:42

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

12.7K
A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae
04:51

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

Published on: July 8, 2025

839
Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
14:38

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Published on: November 2, 2012

12.3K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Comparative cognition
  • Cultural evolution

Background:

  • Evolved psychology is crucial for species adaptation to constructed niches.
  • While some cognitive and behavioral traits are shared, many are species-unique.
  • Social learning facilitates tradition acquisition in many species, but human culture exhibits unique characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of current research in the science of culture.
  • To highlight the strengths of a biological, comparative, and evolutionarily grounded approach.
  • To explore the integration of mechanisms, function, and evolution in cultural studies.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis across species.
  • Evolutionary framework for understanding psychological mechanisms.
  • Integration of biological, social, and cultural factors.

Main Results:

  • Human culture is distinguished by its unique content, characteristics (e.g., cumulative effects, norm enforcement), and cognitive foundations (e.g., imitation, language).
  • A biological, comparative approach reveals general principles underlying cultural commonalities and differences.
  • Emphasis on integrating mechanistic factors across biological hierarchies and timescales.

Conclusions:

  • A non-anthropocentric, evolutionarily grounded approach is vital for studying culture.
  • Understanding cultural evolution requires examining innovation, dissemination, and accumulation processes.
  • General principles can explain both shared and unique aspects of culture across species.