{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T03:50:02Z","timestamp":1792036202061,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3-4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1999,1,1]],"date-time":"1999-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":915148800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Adaptive Behavior"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1999,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>We study the relationship between genetic evolution, learning, and culture. We start with the sim ulation environment of Hinton and Nowlan in which individual learning was shown to guide genetic evolution towards a difficult adaptive goal. We then consider, in lieu of individual learn ing, culture in the form of social learning by imitation. Our results demonstrate that when genes and culture cooperate, or enhance one another, culture too is able to guide genetic evolution towards an adaptive goal. Further, we show that social learning is superior to individual learning insofar as it with genetic evolution converges more quickly to the goal. However, the social learn ing algorithm results in slower genetic assimilation of adaptive alleles than with individual learn ing. It is as if, we argue, the adaptive values are stored in the culture rather than in the genes. Finally, we consider what happens when culture and genes pursue diametrically opposed goals. Here we show that culture, in the form of social learning, is no real match when opposed to genet ic evolution with individual learning. In fact, only the most herculean of social learning algorithms is able to keep a neutralizing toe-hold against the slow plodding force of genetic evolution. Finally, our results suggest that in both cases, opposition and enhancement, transmission forces such as the ratio of teacher to learner are central to the success of social learning.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/105971239900700305","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2007,3,11]],"date-time":"2007-03-11T01:45:25Z","timestamp":1173577525000},"page":"289-306","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["How Culture Can Guide Evolution: An Inquiry into Gene\/Meme Enhancement and Opposition"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Michael L.","family":"Best","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Media Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1999,1,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"atypb1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ackley, D.H. & Littman, M.L. (1994). Altruism in the evolution of communication. In R.A. Books & P Maes (Eds.), Artificial Life IV (pp. 40-48). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/1428.003.0008"},{"key":"atypb2","unstructured":"Baldwin, J.M. (1996). A new factor in evolution. In R.K. Belew & M. Mitchell (Eds.), Adaptive individuals in evolving populations: Models and algorithms. (pp. 59-80). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. (Original work published 1896)."},{"key":"atypb3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/artl.1997.3.4.261"},{"key":"atypb4","first-page":"11","volume":"4","author":"Belew, R.K.","year":"1990","journal-title":"Complex Systems"},{"key":"atypb5","volume-title":"Culture and the evolutionary process","author":"Boyd, R.","year":"1985"},{"key":"atypb6","volume-title":"The sociobiology debate: Readings on ethical and scientific issues","author":"Caplan, A.L.","year":"1974"},{"key":"atypb7","volume-title":"Cultural transmission and evolution: A quantitative approach","author":"Cavalli-Sforza, L.","year":"1981"},{"key":"atypb8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.7123211"},{"key":"atypb9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0162-3095(89)90013-7"},{"key":"atypb10","volume-title":"The selfish gene","author":"Dawkins, R.","year":"1976"},{"key":"atypb11","unstructured":"Dukas, R. (1998). Evolutionary ecology of learning. In R. Dukas (Ed.), Cognitive ecology: The evolutionary ecology of information processing and decision making (pp. 129-174). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press."},{"key":"atypb12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.an.19.100190.001155"},{"key":"atypb13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1515\/9781503621534","volume-title":"Coevolution: Genes culture and human diversity","author":"Durham, W.H.","year":"1991"},{"key":"atypb14","unstructured":"Gabora, L.M. (1995). Meme and variations: A computational model of cultural evolution. In L. Nadel & D. Stein (Eds.), 1993 Lectures in Complex Systems (pp. 471-485). Redwood City, CA: Addison-Wesley."},{"key":"atypb15","unstructured":"Galef, B.G., Jr. (1988). Imitation in animals: History, definition, and interpretation of data from the psychological laboratory. In T.R. Zentall & B.G. Galef, Jr. (Eds.), Social learning: Psychological and biological perspectives (pp. 3-28). New Jersey: Lawrence-Erlbaum Associates."},{"key":"atypb16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02692251"},{"key":"atypb17","unstructured":"Galef, B.G., Jr. (1994). Olfactory communications about foods among rats: A review of recent findings. In B.G. Galef , Jr. M. Mainardi, & P. Valsecchi (Eds.), Behavioral aspects of feeding: Basic and applied research in mammals (pp. 83-102). Chur , Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers."},{"key":"atypb18","volume-title":"Proceedings of the fifth international conference on genetic algorithms","author":"Harvey, I."},{"key":"atypb19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-012273965-1\/50018-2"},{"key":"atypb20","first-page":"495","volume":"1","author":"Hinton, G.E.","year":"1987","journal-title":"Complex Systems"},{"key":"atypb21","volume-title":"Adaptation in natural and artificial systems","author":"Holland, J.H.","year":"1975"},{"key":"atypb22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0047-2484(84)80022-6"},{"key":"atypb23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780195079517.001.0001","volume-title":"The origins of order: Self-organization and selection in evolution","author":"Kauffman, S.","year":"1993"},{"key":"atypb24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/204346"},{"key":"atypb25","volume-title":"Developing a theory of animal social learning. In C.M. Heyes & B.G. Galef Jr., Social learning in animals: The roots of culture","author":"Laland, K.N.","year":"1996"},{"key":"atypb26","unstructured":"Lamarck, J.B. (1996). Of the influence of the environment on the activities and habits of animals, and the influence of the activities and habits of these living bodies in modifying their organization and structure. In R.K. Belew & M. Mitchell (Eds.), Adaptive individuals in evolving populations : Models and algorithms. (pp. 39-57). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. (Original work published 1914)"},{"key":"atypb27","unstructured":"Lloyd Morgan, C. (1996). On modification and variation. In R.K. Belew & M. Mitchell (Eds.), Adaptive individuals in evolving populations: Models and algorithms. (pp. 81-90). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. 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