Data from: Sociality influences cultural complexity

Here, we test these predictions with two experiments that permit learners to access either one or five models (teachers). Experiment 1 demonstrates that naive participants who could observe five models, integrate this information and generate increasingly effective skills (using an image editing tool) over 10 laboratory generations, whereas those with access to only one model show no improvement. Experiment 2, which began with a generation of trained experts, shows how learners with access to only one model lose skills (in knot-tying) more rapidly than those with access to five models.

In the final generation of both experiments, all participants with access to five models demonstrate superior skills to those with access to only one model. These results support theoretical predictions linking sociality to cumulative cultural evolution.

Usage notes

Experiment1 Data from Experiment 1. GroupCondition & Male are binary. Ethnicity: 1=African, 2=East Asian, 3=South Asian, 4=Caucasian, 5=Mixed Experiment2 Data from Experiment 1.

GroupCondition, Male, NativeSpeaker, Exp.Sailing & Exp.Climbing are binary. Ethnicity: 0=African, 1=East Asian, 2=South Asian, 3=Caucasian, 4=Mixed, 5=Other