While social learning is widespread, indiscriminate copying of others is rarely beneficial.
Theory suggests that individuals should be selective in what, when, and whom they copy, by …

Recent work has documented a wide range of important psychological differences across
societies. Multiple explanations have been offered for why such differences exist, including …

Cumulative technological culture (CTC) refers to the increase in the efficiency and
complexity of tools and techniques in human populations over generations. A fascinating …

From emails to social media, from instant messaging to political memes, the way we produce
and transmit culture is radically changing. Understanding the consequences of the massive …

The complexity and variability of human culture is unmatched by any other species. Humans
live in culturally constructed niches filled with artifacts, skills, beliefs, and practices that have …

For a policy-maker promoting the end of a harmful tradition, conformist social influence is a
compelling mechanism. If an intervention convinces enough people to abandon the …

In the past few decades, scholars from several disciplines have pursued the curious parallel
noted by Darwin between the genetic evolution of species and the cultural evolution of …

Can diversity make for better science? Although diversity has ethical and political value,
arguments for its epistemic value require a bridge between normative and mechanistic …

Why groups of individuals sometimes exhibit collective 'wisdom'and other times maladaptive
'herding'is an enduring conundrum. Here we show that this apparent conflict is regulated by …

We develop a conceptual framework for studying collective adaptation in complex socio-
cognitive systems, driven by dynamic interactions of social integration strategies, social …