Summary
Contents
Subject index
Learning: A Behavioral, Cognitive, and Evolutionary Synthesis provides an integrated account of the psychological processes involved in learning and conditioning and their influence on human behavior. With a skillful blend of behavioral, cognitive, and evolutionary themes, the text explores various types of learning as adaptive specialization that evolved through natural selection. Robust pedagogy and relevant examples bring concepts to life in this unique and accessible approach to the field.
The Similarities Between Operant Conditioning and Natural Selection
The Similarities Between Operant Conditioning and Natural Selection
As noted in Chapter 1, Darwin’s explanation of the evolution of species by natural selection is based on three mechanisms: sources of variation among individuals, a method of selection for those characteristics that would be passed onto future generations, and a mechanism for retaining changes and transmitting them across successive generations through the inheritance of observed characteristics. Today we know enough about genetics, mutations, and ecology to see that Darwin was essentially correct in his analysis of the origins of different species.
Genetic diversity within species arises through mutations that are not lethal and from sexual reproduction between genetically different individuals (source of variation). That genetic diversity may be reflected ...
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