Could animals responses to body language be called memes?
For instance when I am out walking, and a cat that has never seen me before exhibits anxiety, if I walk around it,
the anxiety immediately subsides.
Doc
A meme, as originally defined, was behaviour (or thought), learnt primarily through imitation (in fact Blackmore uses that in its strictest sense and does not consider other forms of learning.
A meme, then, is an 'idea', if you will, that multiplies by inhabiting more and more minds - a successful meme spreads like an epidemic.
eta - so yes, it could be a bit like the hundredth monkey urban myth (and it is a myth). The Salem witch hysteria, for instance (the behaviour of the accusing girls) would definitely be considered memetic. The spread of the use of the word meme itself (since it seems to be infesting the blogs) is also memetic.
Simple response to stimuli (Skinner's pigeons, for instance), even though it can lead to learned behaviour, should not be considered memetic.
Hope this helps.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
