Restricted Access to Working Memory Does Not Prevent Cumulative Score Improvement in a Cultural Evolution Task.

Some theories propose that human cumulative culture is dependent on explicit, system-2, metacognitive processes. To test this, we investigated whether access to working memory is required for cumulative cultural evolution. We restricted access to adults' working-memory (WM) via a dual-task paradigm, to assess whether this reduced performance in a cultural evolution task, and a metacognitive monitoring task.

Limited evidence for executive function load impairing selective copying in a win-stay lose-shift task.

The use of 'explicitly metacognitive' learning strategies has been proposed as an explanation for uniquely human capacities for cumulative culture. Such strategies are proposed to rely on explicit, system-2 cognitive processes, to enable advantageous selective copying. To investigate the plausibility of this theory, we investigated participants' ability to make flexible learning decisions, and their metacognitive monitoring efficiency, under executive function (EF) load.

Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods.

In the current literature, there are few experimental tests of capacities for cumulative cultural evolution in nonhuman species. There are even fewer examples of such tests in young children. This limited evidence is noteworthy given widespread interest in the apparent distinctiveness of human cumulative culture, and the potentially significant theoretical implications of identifying related capacities in nonhumans or very young children.