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[1]Principia Cybernetica Web

Memetic Selection Criteria

during the different stages of their [2]life-cycle, memes are subjected to
objective, subjective intersubjective and meme-centered selection criteria
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These are the criteria that determine the overall [3]fitness of a meme, whether
it will maintain within an individual's memory and spread to other individuals,
or be eliminated. As meme spreading depends on different objective, subjective
and intersubjective mechanisms, the criteria are sometimes contradictory. See the
general [4]selection criteria for knowledge for more details on individual
criteria.

Objective Criteria

Objective criteria denote selection by phenomena or objects independent of the
hosts and memes involved in the process. The [5]distinctiveness criterion
functions mainly during the assimilation stage. It states that phenomena that are
distinct, detailed or contrasted are more likely to be noticed and understood,
and therefore assimilated. The invariance and controllability criteria, on the
other hand, apply mainly to the retention stage. According to the [6]invariance
criterion, phenomena that recur, independently of the way in which they are
perceived, are more likely to be maintained in memory. Controllability notes that
phenomena which react differentially to the subject's actions are also more
likely to leave a permanent memory trace.

Subjective Criteria

Subjective criteria represent selection by the subject who assimilates the meme.
The main criteria at the assimilation stage are novelty (facilitates assimilation
by attracting the subject's attention) and simplicity (requires less processing
for the meme to be understood). The criterion of [7]coherence (connection,
consistency and support between new perception and existing memory trace)
facilitates the understanding and acceptance parts of the assimilation stage,
since it represents the ease with which the new meme can "fit in" with the memory
that is already there. It also facilitates the retention stage since memories
that cohere are more easy to retrieve and use and are therefore less likely to be
forgotten. The criterion of [8]utility, like controllability, functions mainly at
the retention stage, since useful memes are more likely to be effectively used
and thus reinforced, although it will also help assimilation, by making it more
worthwhile for the host to do the effort to assimilate.

Intersubjective Criteria

Intersubjective criteria represent selection through the interactions between
different subjects. Group utility is an emergent criterion, that is implicit in
all four stages: a memes that is useful to the group of all its hosts is more
likely to survive because it helps the group itself to survive and grow, and thus
to absorb other individuals. [9]Authority functions mainly at the assimilation
stage: memes from authoritative sources, i.e. hosts or vehicles that are held in
high regard or considered to represent expertise in the domain, will be more
easily noticed and accepted. [10]Formality (i.e. precise, unambiguous expression)
too helps assimilation, at least of the original memetic content of the
expression. It will contribute basically to what Dawkins (1976) calls
[11]copying-fidelity. (On the other hand, informal expression, because it tends
to be simpler, may facilitate assimilation, but of an idea different from the one
initially expressed). [12]Conformity, the reinforcement of the same meme by
different hosts belonging to the same group, will boost acceptance and retention
(cf. Boyd & Richerson, 1985). Expressivity, the ease with which the meme can be
expressed in an intersubjective medium, will obviously contribute to the
expression stage. Publicity, finally, the effort put by the host(s) into the
broad distribution of the message, will maximize transmission.

Meme-centered Criteria

Finally, the meme-centered criteria represent selection on the level of the meme
itself. They depend only on the internal structure of the meme, not on its "fit"
to external selectors, such as subjects, objects, or groups. These criteria will
typically select for "[13]selfish" (cf. Heylighen, 1992) or "parasitic" (cf.
Cullen, 1998) memes, whose only goal is to spread themselves, "infecting" a
maximum of hosts without regard for their hosts' well-being. This does not imply
that the same meme cannot satisfy both selfish and non-selfish criteria.
Religions often have this mixture of parasitic and beneficial traits (cf. Cullen,
1998)

Self-justification, the degree to which the components of a meme mutually support
each other, will facilitate understanding and acceptance. Self-reinforcement, the
degree to which the meme stimulates its host to rehearse itself, e.g. by
repetition, meditation, prayer, etc., will strengthen retention. Intolerance, the
degree to which a meme excludes rival memes from being assimilated or retained,
will also help the meme to retain a stable position in memory. Proselytism, the
degree to which the meme urges its host to maximally spread the meme to other
hosts, will increase the rates of expression and transmission.

[MemeTable.gif]

Table: a summary of the main selection criteria for memes, classified according
to the [14]stage during which they are most active, and the system responsible
for the selection.

References:
* Boyd R. & Richerson P.J. (1985): Culture and the Evolutionary Process,
(Chicago University Press, Chicago).
* Cullen B. (1998): "[15]Parasite Ecology and the Evolution of Religion", in:
Heylighen F. (ed.) (1998): The Evolution of Complexity (Kluwer Academic,
Dordrecht)
* Dawkins R. (1976): The Selfish Gene, (Oxford University Press, New York).
* Heylighen F. (1992) : " [externallink.GIF] [16]Selfish Memes and the
Evolution of Cooperation", [externallink.GIF] [17]Journal of Ideas , Vol. 2,
#4, pp 77-84.
* Heylighen F. (1998): "[18]What makes a meme successful? Selection criteria
for cultural evolution", in: Proc. 16th Int. Congress on Cybernetics
(Association Internat. de Cybernetique, Namur), p. 423-418.
* Heylighen F. (1997):"[19]Objective, subjective and intersubjective selectors
of knowledge", Evolution and Cognition 3:1, p. 63-67.
____________________________________________________________________________

Author
F. [22]Heylighen,

Date
Nov 23, 2001 (modified)
Aug 18, 1994 (created)

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[30]Discussion
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* [31]Regarding "conformity pressure", Comment by Ramon G. Noguera
* [32]Memes/RAM, Comment by Glen Damico

[33]Add comment...

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References

1. LYNXIMGMAP:http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMSELC.html#PCP-header
2. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMEREP.html
3. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMEFITN.html
4. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/KNOWSELC.html
5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DISTINCTV.html
6. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/INVARIAN.html
7. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/COHERENC.html
8. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/INDUTIL.html
9. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/AUTHORIT.html
10. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFFORM.html
11. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMES.html
12. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/CONFORM.html
13. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SELFISH.html
14. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMEREP.html
15. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/Cullen.html
16. ftp://ftp.vub.ac.be/pub/projects/Principia_Cybernetica/Papers_Heylighen/Memes&Cooperation.txt
17. http://a-ten.com/joi/index.html
18. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/MemeticsNamur.html
19. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/knowledgeselectors.html
20. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/COPYR.html
21. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/REFERPCP.html
22. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
23. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
24. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MSTT.html
25. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HISTEVOL.html
26. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SOCEVOL.html
27. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMES.html
28. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMSTRUC.html
29. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMEREP.html
30. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MAKANNOT.html
31. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Annotations/MEMSELC.0.html
32. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Annotations/MEMSELC.1.html
33. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/hypercard.acgi$annotform?

[USEMAP]
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMSELC.html#PCP-header
1. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
2. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HOWWEB.html
3. http://pcp.lanl.gov/MEMSELC.html
4. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMSELC.html
5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SERVER.html
6. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/hypercard.acgi$randomlink?searchstring=.html
7. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/RECENT.html
8. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/TOC.html#MEMSELC
9. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SEARCH.html

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