Pattern and process in the evolution of learning.

Full Abstract

A century after E. L. Thorndike's (1898) dissertation on the comparative psychology of learning, the field seems ready for a reassessment of its metatheoretical foundations. The stability of learning phenotypes across species is shown to be similar to that of other biological characters, both genotypic (e.g., Hox genes) and phenotypic (e.g., vertebrate brain structure). Moreover, an analysis of some current lines of comparative research indicates that researchers use similar strategies when approaching problems from either an ecological view (emphasizing adaptive significance) or a general-process view (emphasizing commonality across species). An integration of learning and evolution requires the development of criteria for recognizing and studying the divergence, homology, and homoplasy of learning mechanisms, much as it is done in other branches of biological research.

Author information

Author/s: Papini, Mauricio R (MR);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth 76129, USA. m.papini(-atsign-)tcu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Psychological review (Psychol Rev), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jan; vol 109 (issue 1) : pp 186-201

Dates: Created 2002/02/26; Completed 2002/03/12; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 11863037, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

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