Plasticity-Led Evolution and Human Culture

The Natural Tendency for Wide and Careful Listening: Exploring the Relationship Between Open-Mindedness and Psychological Science

We take open-mindedness to be a component of intellectual humility, as much of the recent empirical literature regarding intellectual humility does but contrary to what some philosophers think. More particularly, we understand intellectual humility as having a self-directed component, which is concerned primarily with the regulation of confidence we have on our own epistemic goods and capacities, and an other-directed component, which is concerned primarily with one's epistemic openness to others so to improve one's epistemic situation. Given that the open-minded person is disposed give new ideas serious consideration, it is crucial that she both listens widely and carefully to other's ideas. In this paper, we examine whether there is evidence to suggest that we have a natural, evolved tendency for this wide and careful listening related to open-mindedness. We conclude that there is indication of a natural tendency for wide listening, especially an in-group tendency. However, careful listening lacks more substantive empirical studies. It seems that human infants are much more inclined to be charitable and attentive to in-group cues or opinions. This is important evidence to deconstruct the idea of a natural tendency of virtuous intellectual humility that opens up the discussion for the role of social learning in cultivating and maintaining a virtuous life.

Perceptions of Resettled Refugee Congolese Women: Maintaining Cultural Traditions during Resettlement

Conflict-displaced refugees have increased significantly globally. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the leading country with refugees in the United States, where many resettle in Ohio. Women refugees are highly vulnerable, yet little literature has focused on them. Furthermore, maintaining cultural traditions can provide comfort during the tumultuous resettlement process. Therefore, this study used mixed methods to understand the perceptions of Congolese refugee women on maintaining cultural traditions during resettlement in Ohio. Translator-assisted, orally administered demographic survey and face-to-face interviews were conducted among resettled Congolese refugee women (n = 20) 18 and older, who arrived in the United States from 2011 to 2018, and were currently receiving Ohio resettlement agency assistance. Researchers applied descriptive coding and thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes. Three themes were identified among the resettled Congolese refugee women regarding maintaining cultural traditions in the United States. The three themes comprised (1) clothing and dressing, (2) food, and (3) parenting style. Our work examined resettled refugee Congolese women's perceptions of maintaining their culture after resettling in Ohio. These study findings could assist community engagers with insights and practical recommendations on supportive services for resettled Congolese women and a deeper understanding of complex acculturative situations facing them during resettlement.

What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Culture? There is a Missing Link Between the Natural and the Social Sciences

The article by Wells is a chance to ponder on the different conceptions of culture endorsed by the natural sciences and by the social sciences. The standard definition of culture among biologists/natural scientists usually focuses on transmission of behaviors (e.g. "tradition of socially learned behaviors"), while on the other hand anthropologists and social scientists focus more on the symbolic aspect of culture (e.g."webs of significance"). This differential emphasis likely reflects a difference in ontology (what culture is) and in its epistemology (how it can be studied). Natural scientists typically prefer to focus on how cultural traits change quantitatively, while social scientists are much more focused with the process of symbolic interpretation, which typically involves the ability to account for meaning and sense-making (thus, it is more qualitative-grounded). These two conceptions of culture are both valid but incomplete, if they do not take into account the counterpart. The scientific conundrum that has to be solved is how these two different onto-epistemologies can be successfully linked together. A speculative hypothesis is put forward.

Toward a Cultural Evolutionary Psychology: Why the Evolutionary Approach does not Imply Reductionism or Determinism

Does evolutionary psychology (EP) properly account for the sociocultural context? Does it underestimate both the developmental and the relational aspects of the human psyche? Is it instantiated in a mechanistic epistemology? Does it imply determinism or reductionism? The commentaries on our previous target article raised similar questions and we try to tackle them in the current response. Our "epistemological assessment" of Psychology and our consequent unification claim under the banner of the evolutionary approach (Zagaria et al., Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 54(3), 521-562, 2020 ) was deeply examined and discussed. The objections to our target article can be grouped into four main categories. We sum them up and argue why: 1) the pre-paradigmatic status of psychology is a problem rather than a richness of perspectives; 2) EP's criticisms stem from common misconceptions-furthermore, developmental and relational aspects of human psyche might find their natural explanation in EP; 3) EP does not wipe out the emergence of the sociocultural context as something qualitatively different; 4) evolutionary meta-theory is not incompatible with subjectivity. Evolutionary psychology might be approached with caution and curiosity, rather than with prejudicial concepts. Incorporating some legitimate cultural criticisms, it may aspire to become a "cultural evolutionary psychology", hence an integrative psychological meta-theory that tries to connect the biological "plane of existence" (Henriques, Review of General Psychology, 7(2), 150-182, 2003) to the cultural "plane of existence". However, a basic philosophical concern has yet to be answered, i.e. what ultimately constitutes mind and thus the "psycho-logical" science. We argue that when trying to find the answer we know where to look at.