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Toward an integrated study of peer cultures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2026

Sheina Lew-Levy Open the ORCID record for Sheina Lew-Levy [Opens in a new window]  and
Dorsa Amir Open the ORCID record for Dorsa Amir [Opens in a new window]
Sheina Lew-Levy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK sheina.lew-levy@durham.ac.uk
Dorsa Amir*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA dorsa.amir@duke.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

In our target article, we proposed that children are not merely recipients of adult culture but actively produce and maintain their own peer cultures, which may help communities navigate rare yet pivotal episodes of social and ecological change. Commentaries from across the social and biological sciences expanded this framework, situating peer cultures within developmental, evolutionary, and comparative contexts. They emphasized the diversity of peer cultures, the communicative systems and transmission mechanisms that sustain them, and introduced new approaches for identifying them – from formal evolutionary models to research in non-human species and the archaeological record. In this response, we synthesize and build on these contributions by addressing questions about the scope and influence of peer cultures within the broader processes of cultural evolution and by outlining future directions for a more unified, cross-disciplinary science of peer cultures.

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Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e257
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© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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