How subcultures emerge

0575213 - ÚTIA 2024 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Tureček, P. - Kozák, M. - Slavík, Jakub
How subcultures emerge.
Evolutionary Human Sciences. Roč. 5, č. 1 (2023), č. článku e24. E-ISSN 2513-843X
Institutional support: RVO:67985556
Keywords : cultural evolution * cultural divergence * sympatric speciation * Galton–Pearson model * PVDI
OECD category: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology
Method of publishing: Open access
http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2023/SI/slavik-0575213.pdf https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/evolutionary-human-sciences/article/how-subcultures-emerge/926897A87E16C59B20FEF434BB15E807

Sympatric speciation is typically presented as a rare phenomenon, but urban subcultures frequently emerge even in the absence of geographic isolation. Is there perhaps something that culture has but bio-logical inheritance does not that would account for this difference? We present a novel model that combines assortative interaction and multidimensional inheritance. Our computer simulations show that assortment alone can lead to the formation of cohesive clusters of individuals with low within-group and large between-group variability even in the absence of a spatial separation or disruptive natural selection. All it takes is a proportionality between the variance of inputs (cultural ‘parents’) and outputs (cultural ‘offspring’). We argue that variability-dependent inheritance cannot be easily accomplished by genes alone, but it may be the norm, not the exception, in the transmission of culture between humans. This model explains the frequent emergence of subcultures and behavioural clustering in our species and possibly also other cultural animals.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345385


Research data: OSF