Towards a Cognitive Memetics: Socio-Cognitive Mechanisms for Memes Selection and Spreading

Abstract

We start from the autonomy of a cognitive agent relative to social influence and the importance of cognitive constraints in accepting a given meme. In this perspective, Tomasello's model of cultural transmission is discussed. On the basis of general principles of cognitive processing (as the role of interpretation and 'understanding' of the input) we introduce three specific mechanisms for adopting a given behaviour: 'instrumental adoption' based on means-end reasoning and on practical utility (section 2.); normative adoption, where certain behaviours or values are prescribed by social norms and the agent wants to conform to such norms (section 3.); and the social identity mechanism, where the agent imitates a given behaviour of others to be like them, one of them (section 4.). Those mechanisms differ one from the other as for the cognitive interpretation of the observed behaviour and for the subjective motives for replicating it. Special attention is devoted to the role of norms as spreading memes and as meme-regulators, and to the role of the inter-group differentiation motive. Principles supporting the diffusion of know how are different from principles supporting the diffusion of know that. Cognitive constraints for belief acceptance are examined (section 6). Finally a more sophisticated model of the cognitive processing of a candidate meme is presented (section 7.) where not only the adoption of a meme but also its diffusion can be the result of a decision of the cognitive agent. Different socio-cognitive micro-mechanisms make different predictions as for their emergent effects; in fact, they have different macro-results in meme propagation. Those examples and models are aimed at claiming that the agents' minds are the most relevant selective environment for memes and the media of their transmission. To understand cultural evolution it is necessary to identify the cognitive principles of the success or selection of memes within minds. Memetics needs cognitive modelling.

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