Nicolas Baumard & Jean-Baptiste Andre (2025). The ecological approach to culture. Evolution and Human Behavior.46(3). doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106686

Résumé :
The prevailing view in the literature treats cultural dynamics as fundamentally distinct from other ecological processes—governed by a second system of inheritance and requiring a separate set of theoretical foundations. Yet at its core, culture is simply an emergent outcome of interactions among individuals and with their shared environment—the very kind of phenomenon ecologists routinely study. In fact, in many ecosystems not considered cultural, such interactions do produce stable population differences, rapid innovations, informational changes, or even cumulative dynamics. These phenomena are more pronounced in cultural ecosystems, but they are not different in kind. Accordingly, we argue that cultural ecosystems should be studied through the same mechanisms as other ecosystems—ecological modifications, phenotypic responses, legacy effects, and ecological cascades. Different ecosystems may require specific methods or concepts, but not fundamentally different theoretical frameworks. The main strength of this deflationary view of culture lies in its parsimony. If culture is not fundamentally special, we can rely on the same robust and well-tested framework—namely, inclusive fitness theory—to understand human behavior in cultural ecosystems, just as we do for animal behavior more generally. Inclusive fitness theory, in turn, can help explain both (i) individual behavior in culturally rich ecosystems and (ii) how the interaction of such behaviors gives rise to the large-scale ecological patterns we call culture.

Lilas Gurgand, Hugo Peyre, Franck & Ramus (2025). Gender disparities in parental linguistic engagement and in children's language development. Learning and Individual Differences, 120(102679). doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102679

Résumé :
Girls tend to outperform boys in language development and literacy, but the reasons behind this remain unclear, particularly whether the family environment plays a role. This study examines gender differences in parental linguistic engagement and its effect on language outcomes. Using data from the French birth cohort Elfe (ranging from 14,000 children for early outcomes to 4000 for later outcomes), parental questionnaires assessed linguistic engagement from ages 1 to 5. Children's language outcomes were measured via the McArthur-Bates CDI at age 2, and language and literacy tests in preschool and first grade. Analyses showed that parents engaged more with girls than boys (standardized β = 0.10 to 0.17), and this engagement partially mediated the relationship between sex and language outcomes (mediation 6 % to 19 %). These findings suggest that parental language engagement contributes to sex differences in language development, with implications for designing interventions that ensure equitable language opportunities for all children.
Educational relevance statement
This study explores how parental linguistic engagement differs between boys and girls and how it influences children's language development. By analyzing data from a large French birth cohort, we found that parents tend to engage more with girls than boys in early childhood, and this increased engagement partly explains why girls often perform better in language and literacy skills. These findings suggest that parental linguistic engagement contributes to gender differences in language development and suggest that targeted interventions may help bridge the gap, ensuring that both boys and girls have equal opportunities to develop strong language skills, which are essential for academic success and lifelong learning.

Elisabeth Pacherie(2025). Role and limits of socio-normative influences in delusions of control. Synthese, 205(180). doi:10.1007/s11229-025-05010-w

Résumé :
To what extent are the cognitive processes underlying human subjective experiences, thoughts, and behaviors shaped by socio-cultural norms and values, or conversely, impervious to socio-normative influences? To explore this question, I use delusions of control as a case study. Delusions of control present two apparent paradoxes, the resolution of which may illuminate the interplay between processes permeable to socio-cultural norms and those that are not. The first is the agency attribution paradox: individuals with delusions of control exhibit both under- and over-attribution of self-agency. The second is the paradox of double social standards: delusions of control simultaneously demonstrate permeability to socio-cultural influences and imperviousness to intersubjective evidence. I argue that a version of the predictive processing theory of the sense of agency, as proposed by Leptourgos and Corlett (2020, Frontiers in Big Data, 3, 27), may help resolve the agency attribution paradox and clarify some limits of socio-normative penetrability in cognitive processes. Furthermore, I suggest that the paradox of double social standards may be partly explained by metacognitive impairments and abnormally strong metacognitive feelings of confidence attached to delusional beliefs. These factors may account for both the significant role of socio-cultural priors in shaping delusional content and the resistance of delusions to change, even in the face of corrective social influences.

Joëlle Proust, Frédéric Guilleray, Victor Serveau, LouiseGoupil (2025). Can metacognitive monitoring be trained procedurally in the classroom? . Metacognition Learning. 20, 13.doi:10.1007/s11409-025-09418-0

Résumé :
Predicting how well they will perform or have performed in a task – i.e., metacognitive monitoring—can allow students to engage in self-regulation during learning. Research has demonstrated that students are often prone to overconfidence and underconfidence biases however, and it remains unclear whether teachers can use simple pedagogical tools to help students (re)calibrate their metacognitive monitoring directly in the classroom. Here, we test the efficacy of a 3-step intervention that consists in routinely asking students to predict their ability to conduct a cognitive task, to retrospectively evaluate their performance, and finally, to compare their metacognitive judgments with their actual performance. We tested the efficiency of this intervention in a large-scale training study. In a test group (N = 297, 2nd to 12th grade), students used a metacognitive tool that allowed them to report their confidence before performing a learning task, after performing it, and after receiving feedback on their performance. In a control group (N = 278), students performed an equally engaging, non-metacognitive task. Predictive metacognitive monitoring improved in the test group, especially for the most vulnerable students. By contrast, retrospective metacognition did not improve. Using the tool did not improve academic outcomes in the test group compared to the control group; potential explanations for this are discussed. Our findings suggest that using simple metacognitive tools as part of regular pedagogical practices has the potential to enhance vulnerable students’ metacognitive monitoring, but that this might not be sufficient to help them improve their academic performances.

Ying Zhong, Valentin Thouzeau, Nicolas Baumard (2025). Literary Fiction Indicates Early Modernization in China Prior to Western Influence. Sociological Science.doi:10.15195/v12.a10

Résumé :
Modernization refers to the shift from traditional values to individual autonomy and self-development, driven by economic development. Previously considered unique to Western culture, modernization has now emerged as a global phenomenon, with East Asia playing a leading role. This article explores the possibility that modernization might have occurred outside the Western world prior to Western influence. We pioneered a novel approach for understanding the evolution of Chinese values by creating a unique and comprehensive database of narrative fiction. This database includes all major Chinese narrative fiction from the Tang dynasty (7th century) to the present, encompassing 3,496 works from mainland China and 3,338 modern works from Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. It also provides a systematic comparison of ancient fictions and their modern adaptations (e.g., Journey to the West ). Our findings confirm that modernization has been underway in China since the late twentieth century. Surprisingly, a similar rise in modern values was detected as early as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, coinciding with significant economic development. This era saw an increasing expression of romantic love, open-mindedness, and reciprocal cooperation. However, this shift was not sustained, leading to a significant reassertion of traditional values from the late eighteenth century until the early twentieth century. These findings not only highlight the nuanced dynamics of early modernization beyond Western contexts but also demonstrate that values are dynamic, evolving constantly in response to economic development, thereby challenging the binary distinction between WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) and non-WEIRD societies.

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