AN ODYSSEY THROUGH LEARNING ANO EVOLUTION

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Michael D. Zeiler

Abstract

Learning is a property of Iiving animals, and so it, Iike other biological processes, is the product of evolutionary processes. Several questions arise when Iearning is vlewed from an evolutionary context. One is why animaís should learn at all. Phrased in evolutionary terms, this is the question of the adaptive significance of Iearning. A second relates to similarities in how natural selection works at the species Ievel to how reintorcement operates at the level of individuals during their lifetime. Are they indeed identical processes operating at differerit levels? A third question is the generality of learning principies across species and situations. A fourth is the extent to which learning processes revealed in the laboratory are relevant to understanding learning as it occurs in the natural environment. These four questions are the focus of this paper.

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How to Cite
Zeiler, M. D. (2011). AN ODYSSEY THROUGH LEARNING ANO EVOLUTION. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 1(2), 259–272. https://doi.org/10.5514/rmac.v1.i2.27168