TY - JOUR
T1 - Methods for studying cultural attraction
AU - Heintz, Christophe
AU - Blancke, Stefaan
AU - Scott-Phillips, Thom
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Cultural attraction theory (CAT) describes a general evolutionary process, cultural attraction, by which the spread and stability of cultural items (beliefs, practices, artifacts, etc.) result not just from differential reproduction, but also from transformations that systematically favor the reconstruction of cultural items of specific types. In this way, CAT aims to provide a general framework for the study of cultural evolution. In a thoughtful critical analysis, Buskell questions the ability of CAT to provide methodological guidance for research in cultural evolution. Can CAT be used to develop the sort of mid-range theories and models that often drive empirical work? Here we argue that CAT can indeed be used in this way, and we outline the methodological practices that students of cultural attraction have used and are currently developing.
AB - Cultural attraction theory (CAT) describes a general evolutionary process, cultural attraction, by which the spread and stability of cultural items (beliefs, practices, artifacts, etc.) result not just from differential reproduction, but also from transformations that systematically favor the reconstruction of cultural items of specific types. In this way, CAT aims to provide a general framework for the study of cultural evolution. In a thoughtful critical analysis, Buskell questions the ability of CAT to provide methodological guidance for research in cultural evolution. Can CAT be used to develop the sort of mid-range theories and models that often drive empirical work? Here we argue that CAT can indeed be used in this way, and we outline the methodological practices that students of cultural attraction have used and are currently developing.
KW - CAT
KW - attraction
KW - cultural evolution
KW - method
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060922840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/evan.21764
DO - 10.1002/evan.21764
M3 - Article
C2 - 30689252
AN - SCOPUS:85060922840
SN - 1060-1538
VL - 28
SP - 18
EP - 20
JO - Evolutionary Anthropology
JF - Evolutionary Anthropology
IS - 1
ER -