Epidemiology of representations, or cultural epidemiology, provides a conceptual framework for explaining cultural phenomena by  how mental representations get distributed within a population. The theory appeals to an analogy with medical epidemiology ; because "...macro-phenomena such as endemic and epidemic diseases are unpacked in terms of patterns of micro-phenomena of individual pathology and inter-individual transmission". Representations get transferred via so called cognitive causal chains  (cf. Table 1) . The stability of public productions and mental representations (constituting a cultural phenomenon) is explained via ecological and psychological factors. The latter include properties of the human mind and cultural epidemiologists have emphasized the significance of evolved properties : the existence of naïve theories, domain-specific abilities , principles of relevance.
Epidemiology of representations, or cultural epidemiology, is a theory for explaining cultural phenomena by examining how mental representations get distributed within a population. The theory uses medical epidemiology as its chief analogy, because "...macro-phenomena such as endemic and epidemic diseases are unpacked in terms of patterns of micro-phenomena of individual pathology and inter-individual transmission". Representations transfer via so-called " cognitive causal chains " (cf. Table 1) ; these representations constitute a cultural phenomenon by achieving stability of public production and mental representation within the existing ecology and psychology of a populace, the latter including properties of the human mind . Cultural epidemiologists have emphasized the significance of evolved properties , such as the existence of naïve theories, domain-specific abilities and principles of relevance.
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