Lew-Levy and Amir’s piece is a welcome reprieve from the hegemonic Western scientific narrative that pervades cultural evolutionary and developmental sciences – a narrative which tends to focus on isolated individuals, often neglecting the embeddedness of human development in social and cultural contexts (Chaudary et al., Reference Chaudhary, Misra, Bansal, Valsiner and Singh2022). I have been struggling with the challenges of overcoming this individual-centric paradigm myself.

Research focusing on pairs or groups of individuals is both costly and time-consuming; however, given that humans are inherently social beings (Tomasello, Reference Tomasello2019), a significant portion of relevant developmental phenomena is excluded from most mainstream studies. In such studies, children are often paired with unfamiliar peers or adults in artificial conditions (Rogoff, Dahl, & Callanan, Reference Rogoff, Dahl and Callanan2018). In some cases, humans are replaced by puppets (Packer & Moreno-Dulcey, Reference Packer and Moreno-Dulcey2022) or animated geometric shapes (Lucca et al., Reference Lucca, Yuen, Wang, Alessandroni, Allison, Alvarez, Axelsson, Baumer, Baumgartner, Bertels, Bhavsar, Byers-Heinlein, Capelier-Mourguy, Chijiiwa, Chin, Christner, Cirelli, Corbit, Daum and Hamlin2025). When addressing familiar or cultural variables, these studies are highlighted as addressing only one aspect of human behavior and are often published in specialty journals (e.g., Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology). These omissions risk distorting our understanding of how developmental processes unfold in real-world settings, where interpersonal interactions play a central role.

Lew-Levy and Amir’s emphasis on children as independent producers of culture, and on peer cultures as autonomous from adult culture, is both insightful and necessary. However, despite the strengths of their paper, the focus on independence and autonomy, two core values from Western societies, demonstrates that the authors also grapple with fully escaping the gravitational pull of dominant narratives. While children’s peer cultures are often depicted as distinct, self-contained systems, they are in fact situated and relational (Rogoff et al, Reference Rogoff, Dahl and Callanan2018). Children’s lives are frequently conceptualized as separate from those of adults. Yet in practice, children’s experiences are deeply intertwined with adult life. Although children may not be expected to behave like adults in many domains, the boundaries between childhood and adulthood is permeable, overlapping, and culturally contingent. The ambiguity of this transition period underscores the need for nuanced frameworks that resist age-based essentialism and instead focus on social roles, relationships, and culturally mediated practices.

Western theoretization tends to focus on the isolation of phenomena. Cultural evolutionary theorists initially adopted genetic evolution as a metaphor (Creanza, Kolodny, & Feldman, Reference Creanza, Kolodny and Feldman2017). One of the central issues with this approach is that, while genetics includes identifiable (though complex and still debated) units of transmission, an equivalent unit for cultural transmission remains highly controversial (Hirschfeld, Reference Hirschfeld2018). Likewise, developmental psychology faced challenges around the concept of developmental stages. Traditional stage-based models (Feldman, Reference Feldman2004) – have dominated the field, but other frameworks offer a more dynamic and context-sensitive alternative. For instance, the Developmental Systems Theory (Griffiths & Tabery, Reference Griffiths, Tabery, Griffiths and Tabery2013) defines development as a cascade of events occurring within certain biological and environmental parameters, allowing for individual variability in developmental trajectories. Hence, evolutionary, cultural, and developmental changes share a common feature: their milestones are theory-laden – whether those theories are scientific, cultural, or folk-based. A cultural evolutionary perspective on peer cultures stands to gain significantly from incorporating diverse viewpoints, particularly from scholars and communities beyond the Western academic canon.

To avoid reproducing the pitfalls of Western behavioral science – such as its emphasis on linearity, hierarchy, individualism, and universalism – the contributions of Global South researchers must be more than tokenistically acknowledged. The broader research community must go further and seek to dialog with non-Western knowledge. However, many efforts to include these perspectives in the global academic conversation remain superficial. They are often limited to Western researchers forming short-term collaborations with a small number of local scholars to showcase “local” features, or compiling “international” publications that highlight diversity without integrating it into the theoretical core. These practices risk reinforcing the very hierarchies they claim to disrupt.

Furthermore, research culture and resource availability differ greatly across countries, affecting not only the type of research that can be conducted but also the kinds of questions that are asked. As research on group behavior and relational dynamics is particularly resource-intensive, researchers in the Global South – who may already face structural and funding constraints – are placed at a disadvantage when attempting to conduct such studies.

A truly inclusive cultural evolutionary approach to peer cultures must move beyond superficial inclusion and genuinely integrate the theoretical and empirical contributions of scholars from outside Western contexts. This involves not only citing their work but also rethinking dominant assumptions in light of these perspectives. Even in academic circles, which are heavily influenced by Western canon worldwide, Global South contributions are unheard of outside their countries. There exists a rich variety of developmental theories emerging outside the Western world – even when they are partially shaped by Western thought.

For example, cultural historical psychology, which originated in the Soviet Union, has profoundly influenced Brazilian developmental psychology and educational theory (Asbahr, Souza, & Barroco, Reference Asbahr, Souza and Barroco2024). This cross-pollination illustrates that non-Western theories are not mere reflections of Western ones, but rather reinterpret and extend them in culturally meaningful ways. Regarding the study of children’s peer cultures in Brazil, a theoretical framework developed in the 1980s led to multiple approaches to children’s cultural practices (Carvalho & Beraldo, Reference Carvalho and Beraldo1989). These were influenced by historical-cultural theory, anthropology, and ethology (Otta, Reference Otta2017; Pontes & Magalhães, Reference Pontes and Magalhães2003; Queiroz, Maciel, & Branco, Reference Queiroz, Maciel and Branco2006). Although much of this work focused on children’s play, it consistently portrayed children as active participants in learning and social interaction across a range of settings, including nurseries, families, and communities. Importantly, these frameworks challenge the notion that play is merely preparation for adulthood; instead, play is recognized as a culturally significant activity in its own right.

To conclude, the very notion of what constitutes a “unit” of culture, a “stage” of development, or a “peer culture” must be re-evaluated through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration. Development does not unfold in a vacuum – it is shaped by histories, ecologies, institutions, and relationships. Peer cultures are not static or isolated; they are fluid, negotiated, and shaped in relation to adult cultures, economic structures, and local epistemologies. Lew-Levy and Amir’s paper opens an important space in developmental and cultural evolutionary science. However, for the field to advance, it must take seriously the contributions of Global South scholars, adopt more relational and context-sensitive frameworks, and question the assumptions underlying Western models of childhood, development, and culture.