Sociocultural evolution

About: Sociocultural evolution is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5357 publications have been published within this topic receiving 183062 citations. The topic is also known as: sociocultural evolutionism & cultural evolution.

Culture and the evolutionary process

Abstract: How do biological, psychological, sociological, and cultural factors combine to change societies over the long run? Boyd and Richerson explore how genetic and cultural factors interact, under the influence of evolutionary forces, to produce the diversity we see in human cultures. Using methods developed by population biologists, they propose a theory of cultural evolution that is an original and fair-minded alternative to the sociobiology debate.

Voices of the Mind: A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action

Abstract: Introduction 1. Prerequisites 2. A Sociocultural Approach to Mind 3. Beyond Vygotsky: Bakhtin's Contribution 4. The Multivoicedness of Meaning 5. The Heterogeneity of Voices 6. Sociocultural Setting, Social Languages, and

The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition

Abstract: This work builds a bridge between evolutionary theory and cultural psychology. The author is one of very few people to have done systematic research on the cognitive capacities of both nonhuman primates and human children. This work identifies what the differences are, and suggests where they might have come from. Tomasello argues that the roots of the human capacity for symbol-based culture, and the kind of psychological development that takes p[lace within it, are based in a cluster of unique human cognitive capacities that emerge early in human ontogeny. These include capacities fort sharing attention with other persons, for understanding that others have intentions of their own; and for imitating, not just what someone else does, but what someone else has intended to do. In this discussions of language, symbolic representation, and cognitive-development, the author describes with authority and ingenuity the "ratchet effect" of the capacities working over evolutionary and historical time to create the kind of cultural artifacts and settings within which each new generation of children develops. He also proposes a novel hypothesis, based on process of social cognition and cultural evolution, about what makes the cognitive representations of humans different from those of other primates.

Mind as action

Abstract: Contemporary social problems typically involve many complex, interrelated dimensions--psychological, cultural, and institutional, among others. But today, the social sciences have fragmented into isolated disciplines lacking a common language, and analyses of social problems have polarized into approaches that focus on an individual's mental functioning over social settings, or vice versa. In Mind as Action, James V. Wertsch argues that current approaches to social issues have been blinded by the narrow confines of increasing specialization in the social sciences. In response to this conceptual blindness, he proposes a method of sociocultural analysis that connects the various perspectives of the social sciences in an integrated, nonreductive fashion. Wertsch maintains that we can use mediated action, which he defines as the irreducible tension between active agents and cultural tools, as a productive method of explicating the complicated relationships between human action and its manifold cultural, institutional, and historical contexts. Drawing on the ideas of Lev Vygotsky, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Kenneth Burke, as well as research from various fields, this book traces the implications of mediated action for a sociocultural analysis of the mind, as well as for some of today's most pressing social issues. Wertsch's investigation of forms of mediated action such as stereotypes and historical narratives provide valuable new insights into issues such as the mastery, appropriation, and resistance of culture. By providing an analytic unit that has the possibility of operating at the crossroads of various disciplines, Mind as Action will be important reading for academics, students, and researchers in psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, sociology, literary analysis, and philosophy (http://books.google.com/books?id=73Vv7Y3vf14C&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr#v=onepage&q&f=false)

Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies

Abstract: Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies Albert Bandura (Ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995, 334 pp., $00.00 Research and publication on the construct entitled self-efficacy has grown exponentially in terms of both numbers of studies and diversity of applications. Self Efficacy in Changing Societies consists of 10 chapters that analyze the diverse ways in which perceived self-efficacy troth shapes and is shaped by sociolcultural experiences. Edited by Albert Bandura, the book is based upon papers presented by international scholars at a conference held November 4-6, 1993, at the Johann Jacobs Foundations Communication Center, Marbach Castle, Germany and centers around the theme that "young people's beliefs in their personal efficacy to manage the demands of rapidly changing societal conditions help them to meet these challenges" (p. vii). The introductory chapter, Written by Bandura, begins by addressing what he considers to be "central issues" regarding the nature and function of perceived self-efficacy. The majority of the chapter is dedicated to the role of efficacy beliefs in different arenas of human functioning. In addition, the chapter explores the role of perceived self-efficacy in individualistic and collectivistic social systems and concludes by discussing current conditions that may impede the development of collective efficacy, and ways that individuals attempt to recapture some control over these conditions. In chapter 2, Glen Elder, Jr., describes the essential elements of what he calls an "emerging life course paradigm" and then discusses research exploring societal change in America and the impact on beliefs of personal efficacy. Elder demonstrates how personal efficacy beliefs operate within a much broader network of sociocultural influences than have been previously considered. Chapter 3, written by August Flammer, is a developmental analysis of how control beliefs emerge and change throughout the human life span, with the primary focus being the first 12 years. Rammer also discusses the impact of control beliefs on self-concept and prioritization of various life pursuits. Klaus Schneewind's contribution lo the text (chapter 4) addresses the impact of structural and process-oriented aspects of family life on the development of self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. He examines the extensive impact of early family experiences for the individual and discusses several important issues that influence the development of family efficacy beliefs. Schneewind concluded the chapter by presenting an integrative model for studying the processes that influence the acquisition and development of efficacy beliefs within the family context. The fifth chapter, written by Gabriele Oettingen, examines the role of culture in the development of self-efficacy. The chapter begins with an examination of the impact of cultural diversity on self-efficacy information in family and school contexts. Next, the author identifies cross-cultural influences on children's self-efficacy beliefs that operate in school contexts of specific cultures. The chapter closes with a discussion of the universality of self-efficacy effects on persons' cognition, affect, and motivation across cultures. …