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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Natural selection and veridical perceptions.

Justin T Mark¹, Brian B Marion, Donald D Hoffman

¹Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. jtmark@uci.edu

Journal of Theoretical Biology

|July 28, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Natural selection may not always favor accurate perceptions. Non-veridical, utility-focused strategies can outperform reality-based ones, suggesting further study into sensory perception evolution is needed.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Cognitive Science
Philosophy of Mind

Background:

The common assumption is that natural selection favors veridical perceptions, which accurately represent the environment.
This influential claim in perception studies lacks rigorous empirical testing.

Purpose of the Study:

To formally test whether natural selection favors veridical perceptions.
To investigate the evolutionary dynamics between veridical and non-veridical perceptual strategies.

Main Methods:

Formalization of the claim and alternative hypotheses.
Introduction of "interface games," a novel class of evolutionary games.
Analysis using closed-form solutions and Monte Carlo simulations under frequency-dependent selection.

Main Results:

Veridical perceptions can be outcompeted and driven to extinction.
Non-veridical strategies, optimized for utility over accuracy, can prevail.
Evolutionary game models demonstrate potential selection against veridicality.

Conclusions:

Natural selection does not necessarily favor perceptions that accurately depict objective reality.
The evolution of sensory perception may be driven by factors other than pure veridicality.
Further research is warranted on the evolutionary pressures shaping sensory perception.