Cognitive aspects of intergenerational change: Mental models, cultural change, and environmental behavior among the Lacandon Maya of Southern Mexico 

 -  Human Organization, 61(2), p.125-138, 2002 .
<br/><br/> The life of the Lacandon Maya of Mensäbäk (Chiapas, Mexico)has undergone tremendous changes in the last 30 years. These changes are manifested in a generational split in social relations, household location, and economic behavior. The changes affecting social life as well as decision-making processes are paralleled by changes in environmental cognition among the adult members of the community. Older individuals reveal a systematic awareness of the ecological complexity involving animals and plants of the rainforest. The data suggest that the emerging patterns of change are not due to different stages of development-from novice to expert-nor do they seem to be reversible. Rather, they indicate an intricate system that closely links culture, cognition, and behavior. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>AGRICULTURAL DECISION MAKING<br/>COGNITION<br/>CULTURE<br/>INTERGENERATIONAL CHANGE<br/>MAYA<br/>MEXICO