C' Recent publications:

1
Supervisor Profile
Dr Rachel Kendal Dept. Anthropology 46 Old
Elvet Durham DH1 3HN Tel [phone] Email
rachel.kendal_at_durham.ac.uk
Social Learning and Behavioural Innovation
A. Overview of Research Interests
My research focuses on the mechanisms and
functions of social learning, cultural evolution
and behavioural innovation. I am also interested
in the potential application of related findings
to captive animal welfare and to conservation. My
approach focuses on the maintenance of ecological
validity and the integration of empirical and
theoretical work.
Golden Lion Tamarin
Guppy fish
B. Current Research Projects
1. Identifying Social Learning in the Wild
a). Validating a new Method It is very difficult
to distinguish social and asocial learning
outside of controlled laboratory conditions. I
am developing a new method, that simulates a
control condition with which to compare observed
field data. Using data collected on captive
groups of callitrichid monkeys and chimpanzees we
will validate this method before applying it to
data from the wild.
Golden Headed Lion Tamarins Foraging Task
b). Applying the Method The method will be
applied to data documenting traditions in wild
gorillas, dolphins, chimpanzees and capuchin
monkeys. By assessing the evidence for social
learning in the data we hope to provide an
alternative means of validating recent claims of
culture in these animals. Ultimately a free-ware
package will be produced into which researchers
will be able to input their data to test for
social learning.
Mountain Gorilla
Sponging Dolphin
2. Social Learning Strategies
Although social learning may enhance the
efficiency of learning compared to asocial
learning alone, animals do not use social
learning indiscriminately but employ strategies
dictating when to use social information and from
whom to acquire it. The extent to which there is
evidence for different social learning strategies
will be investigated using data from the wild and
experiments with zoo-housed capuchins and
chimpanzees. Ultimately, this will shed light on
the selection pressures influencing the evolution
of culture and causes of adaptive behaviour.
Chimpanzee, termite fishing
Capuchin monkey
C. Recent publications Kendal RL, Coolen I, van
Bergen Y, Laland KN, 2005. Tradeoffs in the
adaptive use of social and asocial learning.
Advances in the Study of Behavior 35
333-379. Kendal RL, Coe RL, Laland KN, 2005. Age
differences in neophilia, exploration and
innovation in family groups of callitrichid
monkeys. American Journal of Primatology 66(2)
167-188. Kendal RL, Coolen I, Laland KN, 2004.
The role of conformity in foraging when personal
and social information conflict. Behavioural
Ecology 15(2) 269-277. Day RL, Coe RL, Kendal
JR, Laland KN, 2003. Neophilia, innovation and
social learning A study of intergeneric
differences in Callitrichid monkeys. Animal
Behaviour 65(3) 559-571.
Project opportunities i) Investigating social
learning strategies in zoo-housed capuchin
monkeys or chimpanzees. Ii) Assessing evidence
for cumulative culture in captive primates
(chimps, capuchins, squirrel monkeys,
gorillas) iii) Developing simulations of asocial
and social learning based on parameters collected
in the field. iv) Assessing validity of putative
traditions, seen in the wild, using captive
groups of primates. v) Investigating
psychological biases in the development of
material culture motifs, in humans. vi)
Investigating the influence of the menstrual
cycle on, human and non-human, primate cognition.