No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Children’s peer culture and the « selection for proliferation » hypothesis
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2026
Abstract
Lew-Levy and Amir rightly see children’s peer culture as an overlooked engine of human cultural evolution. Researchers who share this view can now take up the burden of proving that the longevity of children’s traditions is indeed comparable to that of adults and of explaining why. The « selection for proliferation » hypothesis suggests a way.
Information
- Type
- Open Peer Commentary
- Information
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press
References
Nunn, P. (2020). The edge of memory: Ancient stories, oral tradition and the post-glacial world. Bloomsbury Sigma.Google Scholar
Nunn, P. D., & Reid, N. J. (2016). Aboriginal memories of inundation of the Australian coast dating from more than 7000 years ago. Australian Geographer, 47(1), 11–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2015.1077539
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Opie, I., & Opie, P. (1959). The lore and language of schoolchildren. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Perreault, C. (2012). The pace of cultural evolution. PLOS ONE, 7(9), e45150. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045150
CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perreault, C. (2020). The quality of the archaeological record. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Target article
Children as agents of cultural adaptation
Related commentaries (31)
A missing piece of the puzzle? Applying the peer culture concept to the study of human cultural origins
Animal infants as agents of cultural adaptation
Are childhood cultures legitimately special?
Beyond the individual: toward a relational and inclusive cultural evolutionary science of childhood
Both social change and child development play a role in the cultural capacity to innovate
Children (and adults) need status to disseminate their innovations
Children and adults are examples, respectively, of marked and unmarked social categories
Children contribute to cultural evolution beyond peer culture
Children’s natural curiosity, playfulness, sociability, and future orientation as forces for cultural adaptation and innovation
Children’s peer culture and the « selection for proliferation » hypothesis
Coordinating with Peers vs. Adults
From protest to gossip: the developmental roots of norm enforcement in peer culture
Group transmission and niche construction in peer cultures
Hidden cultures: How parental control shapes children’s cultural adaptation in East Asian societies
Intrinsic motivation is key to understanding peer cultures
Let the kids play: Children’s folklore, Newell’s paradox, and the triviality barrier
Making peer culture audible: long-form recordings and the case for early child-to-child input
Peer cultures as untapped resources for climate action
Peer cultures in long-term cultural evolution
Social cognitive development prepares children to be agents of cultural adaptation: bidirectionality of peer interaction and cognitive development across urban and indigenous landscapes
Structure of peer cultures and social changes
The adaptive role of peer culture is shaped by risk landscapes
The cognitive foundations of children’s culture
The dismantling and reconstitution of mental models by child peer groups
The role of juveniles in animal culture
Understanding how peer culture is transmitted requires an understanding of peer teaching
Variable cultural acquisition costs may explain contextual variation in peer cultures
What’s special about peer cultures? The opportunity for disagreement
Young children do not change language
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”: Conservation vs. innovation in homo tool industries
“Street kids and peer culture”
Author response
Toward an integrated study of peer cultures