The Varieties of Cultural Selection

Paul E. Smaldino

No z2m5e_v3, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Evolution requires variation, transmission, and selection. Formal theorizing on cultural evolution has largely focused on transmission processes. Though the boundary between transmission and selection can be blurry at times, I focus on selection and introduce a taxonomy of cultural selection processes. These can be sorted into two broad classes: source selection and content selection, each with several subcategories. This framework identifies cultural attraction, often discussed as distinct from selection, as form of transformative selection, offering a more integrative and consilient view of how cultural variation is selectively transmitted. More generally, this taxonomy provides a unifying language for discussing cultural evolution and highlights important but underdeveloped research areas for theoretical investigation.

Date: 2026-04-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul, nep-evo and nep-mac
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:z2m5e_v3

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/z2m5e_v3

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