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Related Experiment Videos

Biological preparedness and evolutionary explanation.

D Dellarosa Cummins1, R Cummins

  • 1Philosophy Department, University of California, Davis 95616, USA. dcummins@ucdavies.edu

Cognition
|December 10, 1999
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Evolutionary cognitive psychology doesn't require innate or modular cognitive traits. Instead, evolutionary pressures can shape learning to favor adaptive capacities, even without strict nativism or modularity.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Cognitive science
  • Developmental biology

Background:

  • Evolutionary explanations of cognition often assume innate and modular capacities.
  • Innate modules facilitate trait selection due to heritability and decoupling.
  • This paper challenges the necessity of these strong assumptions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate that evolutionary cognitive psychology can function with weaker assumptions about innateness and modularity.
  • To explore how evolutionary pressures influence cognitive development.
  • To reconcile evolutionary theory with cognitive capacity development.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of evolutionary psychology principles.
  • Examination of the relationship between nativism, modularity, and evolutionary selection.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Theoretical modeling of developmental canalization and learning biases.

    • Main Results:

    • Evolutionary cognitive psychology is viable without strict nativism or modularity.
    • Weak assumptions about innateness and modularity are consistent with evolutionary explanations.
    • Evolutionary pressures can bias learning and acquisition to promote adaptive traits.

    Conclusions:

    • Cognitive capacities can evolve through biased learning and development, not solely through innate modules.
    • Evolutionary pressures can guide development towards adaptive outcomes without requiring extreme nativism.
    • A flexible approach to evolutionary cognitive psychology is supported.