Memory and mystery: The cultural selection of minimally counterintuitive narratives
Memory and mystery: The cultural selection of minimally counterintuitive narratives
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DOI：
10.1207/s15516709cog0000_68
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发表时间：
2006-05-01
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Schaller, Mark
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Norenzayan, Ara;Atran, Scott;Schaller, Mark
我们假设，神话和民间故事等文化叙事如果符合最小限度的反直觉(MCI)认知模板，那么它们更有可能实现文化稳定，该模板包括大部分直觉概念和少数反直觉概念。两项研究验证了这一假设，考察了这种模板是否产生记忆优势，以及这种记忆优势是否解释了民间故事的文化成功。在受控实验室环境中，研究1发现，相对于完全直觉或最大限度地违反直觉的认知模板，MCI模板在延迟一周后会产生记忆优势。研究二采用档案研究方法，考察了格林兄弟民间故事的认知结构。与文化上不成功的民间故事相比，那些明显成功的民间故事特别可能符合MCI模板。这些发现突显了人类记忆过程在文化进化中的作用。
We hypothesize that cultural narratives such as myths and folktales are more likely to achieve cultural stability if they correspond to a minimally counterintuitive (MCI) cognitive template that includes mostly intuitive concepts combined with a minority of counterintuitive ones. Two studies tested this hypothesis, examining whether this template produces a memory advantage, and whether this memory advantage explains the cultural success of folktales. In a controlled laboratory setting, Study 1 found that an MCI template produces a memory advantage after a 1-week delay, relative to entirely intuitive or maximally counterintuitive cognitive templates. Using archival methods, Study 2 examined the cognitive structure of Grimm Brothers folktales. Compared to culturally unsuccessful folktales, those that were demonstrably successful were especially likely to fit an MCI template. These findings highlight the role of human memory processes in cultural evolution.