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(with Scott Atran & Douglas Medin)
This is ongoing research, targeting value-systems and hierarchies. In general,
the study looks at three different cultural groups (Itzaj-Maya; Ladino and
Q’eqchi’ Maya migrants to the Petén) that live off the same resources and the
same legal system, but use very different models for their reasoning and
decision making processes. The research showed clear differences between how the
native Itza’ Maya perceive, value and work the forest compared to the two
migrant groups living in the same community (Ladinos and Q’eqchi’ Maya).
Despite the fact, that both Q’eqchi’ Maya and Ladinos lived for about the same
time in the area, we find clear differences between the models and
environmental behavior of the two groups. It appears from our data, that
Ladinos but not Q’eqchi’ Maya learned from the Itza’ Maya.
This research has been funded by NSF.
Publications related to the Project:
Atran, S.; Medin, D. & Ross, N. (n.d.). The Cultural Mind: Environmental
Decision Making and Cultural Modeling within and across populations.
Submittted: Psychological Review.
Atran,S.; Medin, D. & Ross, N. (in press.).”Evolution
and Devolution of Knowledge: A Tale of two biologies.” Journal of the Royal
Anthropological
Society.
Medin, D.; Ross, N.;
Atran, S. et al. (2002). “Categorization and Reasoning in
relation to Culture and Expertise.” The Psychology of Learning and
Motivation, Vol.41:1-41.
Atran, S.; Medin, D.; Ross, N. et al. (2002). “Folkecology, Cultural Epidemiology, and the Spirits of the Commons: A Garden experiment in the Maya
Lowlands, 1995-2000.” Current Anthropology, 43(3):421-450.
Atran, S.; Medin, D.;
Ross, N. et al. (1999). “Folkecology and commons management in the Maya
Lowlands.” In: Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, Vol.96, pp.7598-7603, June.