Put Yourself in Their Shoes

      As I read Tomasello and ponder cultural learning in humans versus non human primates, some old “South Shore” sayings come to mind – “Put yourself in their shoes.” “I would not want to be in their shoes right now!”  These old sayings, that I am sure we have all heard in one form or another over the years, keep appearing in my thought processes.  We sit at home watching the news wondering what it would be like to deal with the flood situations in Australia.  We learning how to tie a tie by watching it on Youtube.  Who knew that thought processes and learning opportunities like these, that we have every day, were such a distinguishable characteristic that puts us in a class by ourselves. 

Tomasello believes that humans have this capability due to our social cognition ability.  He states that this form of social cognition is “... the ability of individual organisms to understand conspecifics as beings like themselves who have intentional and mental lives like their own” (p.5).  This form of “mental shoes” that Tomasello refers to allows us to “... learn not just from the other but through the other” (p.6).    We can imagine ourselves in that situation and how we would resolve it.

Tomasello identifies three basic types of cultural learning that humans have to ability to participate in as a result of our social cognition abilities.  They include collaborative, imitative and instructive learning.  We see these various forms of learning all the time, including group work and lecture style.  Reading Tomasello reiterates the importance of a deep approach to learning and allowing humans to have the opportunity to critically reflect on what they have learned and the outcomes.  As a result, we will continue to contribute to Tomasello’s “ratchet effect” as we continually work to improve the tools of our forebears.

Humans have the advantage of being goal orientated, while non human primates do not.  This ability to investigate the causality in learning situations allows us to understand that there is a reason for why things happen and why there was a particular outcome.   After watching the Youtube video and taking the time to practice, my brother can now tie a tie.  So, the next time my brother has to attend a formal function in which he has to wear one, he has the peace of mind he can tie his tie himself and not ask for our father’s help.  He accomplished a goal and can continue with the Tomasello’s ratchet effect by someday passing on this newly learned wisdom to his offspring, who may even discover an easier way of accomplishing this task.

As humans, Tomasello comments that we also have the ability to recognize that our peers also set goals and learn how to accomplish them.  We can identify with why one of our peers learned to do something one way, whether we agree with it or not.  Yes, the ape learned from his mother that rolling over the log allows you to find termites to eat.  But what will happen to the ape when the next log is too heavy to lift on his own?  Since he only has the ability to learn through emulation, he will not be able to understand that he could use a stick to help him lift it and instead continues to search for a log he can lift and wait longer for his meal.  As humans, we would have known to use a stick through imitative learning, as Tomasello argues that humans are focused on learning the process of completing a task, not just the outcome.  This is part of the ratchet effect as we innovate new ways of completing tasks.

We are all participants in the cumulative cultural revolution as we continue to learn to innovate and improve the ways of our forebears.  As we continue to improve the processes of our ancestors and learn to solve problems of the past, Tomasello points out that we are putting ourselves in the “cognitive shoes” (p.39) of these previous innovators.  We learn how the previous innovators completed the task and then implement our modifications if we deem it necessary.  We allow ourselves to learn and evolve by participating in the types of social and cultural learning that enables us to utilize the tools and artifacts of the past in new and innovative ways. 

Two hundred thousand years ago, our ancestors began to migrate out of Africa.  We are able to modify their cultural traditions and tools in order to live in various climates as a result of cultural learning.  This makes me think that it really is okay to ask questions about EVERYTHING!  Even if it drives some people crazy!  Asking questions enable us to learn not only how to do something, but why we do something.   Is there a better way we can accomplish this task?  It is all part of our cultural learning as humans. 

As adult educators, we need to embrace cultural learning to ensure that lifelong learners are in environments, both physical and social, in which they can utilize the various forms of cultural learning and question is there is a better process to reach the desired goal.  All humans deserve a safe environment where they can ask questions, learn from others and reflect.   What would you do in that situation if you were in his/her shoes?

References

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard  

     University Press.