Re: S-curves in cultural evolution

From: M Lissack (lissacktravel@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun 25 Jan 2004 - 16:33:59 GMT

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    http://eres.bus.umich.edu/docs/workpap/wp99-020.pdf and http://eres.bus.umich.edu/docs/workpap/wp99-017.pdf

    --- William Benzon <bbenzon@mindspring.com> wrote:
    > If you google the name "Joseph Henrich" you might
    > come up with a web-page
    > where you can get a PDF of the following paper:
    >
    >
    > Joseph Henrich, Cultural Transmission & the
    > Diffusion of Innovations
    > Adoption dynamics indicate that biased cultural
    > transmission is the
    > predominate force in behavioral change, American
    > Anthropologist 103(4):
    > 992-1013.
    >
    >
    > Abstract
    >
    > In challenging the pervasive model of individual
    > actors as cost-benefit
    > analysts who adapt their behavior by learning from
    > the environment, this
    > paper analyzes the temporal dynamics of both
    > environmental (individual)
    > learning and biased cultural transmission processes
    > by comparing these
    > dynamics with the robust ³S-shaped² curves that
    > emerge from the diffusion of
    > innovations research. The analysis shows three
    > things: 1) that environmental
    > learning alone never produces the S-shaped adoption
    > dynamics typically
    > observed in the spread of novel practices, ideas and
    > technologies; 2) that
    > biased cultural transmission always produces the
    > S-shaped temporal dynamics;
    > and 3) that a combination of environmental learning
    > and biased cultural
    > transmission can generate S-dynamics, but only when
    > biased cultural
    > transmission is the predominate force in the spread
    > of new behaviors. These
    > findings suggest that biased cultural transmission
    > processes are much more
    > important to understanding the diffusion of
    > innovations and sociocultural
    > evolution than is often assumed by most theorists.
    >
    >
    > --
    >
    > William L. Benzon
    > 708 Jersey Avenue, Apt. 2A
    > Jersey City, NJ 07302
    > 201 217-1010
    >
    > "You won't get a wild heroic ride to heaven on
    > pretty little
    > sounds."--George Ives
    >
    > Mind-Culture Coevolution:
    > http://asweknowit.ca/evcult/
    >
    >
    >
    ===============================================================
    > This was distributed via the memetics list
    > associated with the
    > Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of
    > Information Transmission
    > For information about the journal and the list (e.g.
    > unsubscribing)
    > see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
    >

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    =============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit

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