The influence of goal demotion on children's reproduction of ritual behavior

Nielsen, Mark; Tomaselli, Keyan; Kapitány, Rohan

Abstract

Rituals are a ubiquitous feature of human behavior, yet we know little about the cognitive mechanisms that enable children to recognize them and respond accordingly. In this study, 3 to 6 year old children living in Bushman communities in South Africa were shown a sequence of causally irrelevant actions that differed in the extent to which goal demotion was a feature. The children consistently replicated the causally irrelevant actions but when such actions were also fully goal demoted they were reproduced at significantly higher rates. These findings highlight how causal opacity and goal demotion work in tandem to demarcate actions as being ritualistic, and specifically, how goal demotion uniquely influences the reproduction of ritualistic actions.

Citation

Nielsen, M., Tomaselli, K., & Kapitány, R. (2018). The influence of goal demotion on children's reproduction of ritual behavior. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(3), 343-348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.02.006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 1, 2017
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Deposit Date: Aug 20, 2024
• Journal: Evolution and Human Behavior
• Print ISSN: 1090-5138
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 343-348
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.02.006
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2762180
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: The influence of goal demotion on children's reproduction of ritual behavior; Journal Title: Evolution and Human Behavior; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.02.006; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.