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Rosati AG, Felsche E, Cole MF, Atencia R, Rukundo J. Flexible information-seeking in chimpanzees. Cognition 2024; 251:105898. [PMID: 39059117 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Humans can flexibly use metacognition to monitor their own knowledge and strategically acquire new information when needed. While humans can deploy these skills across a variety of contexts, most evidence for metacognition in animals has focused on simple situations, such as seeking out information about the location of food. Here, we examine the flexibility, breadth, and limits of this skill in chimpanzees. We tested semi-free-ranging chimpanzees on a novel task where they could seek information by standing up to peer into different containers. In Study 1, we tested n = 47 chimpanzees to assess if chimpanzees would spontaneously engage in information-seeking without prior experience, as well as to characterize individual variation in this propensity. We found that many chimpanzees engaged in information-seeking with minimal experience, and that younger chimpanzees and females were more likely to do so. In two subsequent studies, we then further tested chimpanzees who initially showed robust information-seeking on new variations of this task, to disentangle the cognitive processing shaping their behaviors. In Study 2, we examined how a subset of n = 12 chimpanzees applied these skills to seek information about the location versus the identity of rewards, and found that chimpanzees were equally adept at seeking out location and identity information. In Study 3, we examined whether a subset of n = 6 chimpanzees could apply these skills to make more efficacious decisions when faced with uncertainty about reward payoffs. Chimpanzees were able to use information-seeking to resolve risk and choose more optimally when faced with uncertain payoffs, although they often also engaged in information-seeking when it was not strictly necessary. These results identify core features of flexible metacognition that chimpanzees share with humans, as well as constraints that may represent key evolutionary shifts in human cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra G Rosati
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Elisa Felsche
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Megan F Cole
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Joshua Rukundo
- Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary / Chimpanzee Trust, Entebbe, Uganda
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2
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Blanco NJ, Sloutsky VM. Exploration, exploitation, and development: Developmental shifts in decision-making. Child Dev 2024; 95:1287-1298. [PMID: 38314828 PMCID: PMC11223977 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Decision-making requires balancing exploration with exploitation, yet children are highly exploratory, with exploration decreasing with development. Less is known about what drives these changes. We examined the development of decision-making in 188 three- to eight-year-old children (M = 64 months; 98 girls) and 26 adults (M = 19 years; 13 women). Children were recruited from ethnically diverse suburban middle-class neighborhoods of Columbus, Ohio, USA. Results indicate that mature reward-based choices emerge relatively late in development, with children tending to over-explore. Computational modeling suggests that this exploration is systematic rather than random, as children tend to avoid repeating choices made on the previous trial. This pattern of exploration (reminiscent of novelty preference) decreased with development, whereas the tendency to exploit increased.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel J Blanco
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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3
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Hirose J. How do question-answer exchanges among generations matter for children's happiness? PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303523. [PMID: 38905200 PMCID: PMC11192389 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Intergenerational exchange plays an increasing role in realizing sustainable societies. Question-answer exchanges are the trigger for individuals to initiate some intergenerational relations, and the literature has established that inquisitiveness (curiosity about something and someone different) contributes to people's generativity and happiness. However, little is known about how children's inquisitiveness influences their generative concern and happiness. We claim that inquisitiveness is essential for children to enhance their happiness and hypothesize that those who receive a positive response from adults tend to be inquisitive and express the signs of generativity. To empirically examine the hypothesis, we have statistically characterized inquisitiveness in relation to adult-child interaction, generativity (offering care for people and the natural environment) and happiness, using the data from a survey of 511 Japanese children between 9 and 14 years and by applying the revised generativity concern scale (GCS-R). The results show that inquisitiveness correlates with generativity and happiness, primarily that a positive response by adults to children's inquiries promotes their inquisitiveness through adult-child interactions. Our analysis shows that children's inquisitiveness, encouraged by adults' positive responses, is more significant in happiness than the generativity concern during childhood. Overall, the results suggest that adults responding positively to children's questions is essential for promoting inquisitiveness and increasing happiness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junichi Hirose
- Multidisciplinary Science Cluster, Collaborative Community Studies Unit, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan
- Research Institute for Future Design, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, Japan
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4
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Bass I, Bonawitz E. Early environments and exploration in the preschool years. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0305353. [PMID: 38857256 PMCID: PMC11164363 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
A great deal of research has demonstrated how children's exploration is driven by opportunities for learning. However, less work has investigated how individual differences across children and their environmental contexts relate to patterns in playful exploration. We performed a "mega-analysis" in which we pooled preschool-aged children's play data from four past experiments in our lab (N = 278; M(age) = 56 months) and correlated play behaviors with age and socioeconomic status (median income, modal education in children's home zip codes). We found that, with age, children performed more unique actions during play. Additionally, children from lower SES areas explored more variably; the link between this play and tendencies to focus on pedagogically demonstrated features traded off differently than it did for higher SES children. This work lays critical groundwork for understanding exploration across developmental contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Bass
- Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Bonawitz
- Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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5
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Teo LZ, Leong V. Age-appropriate adaptation of creativity tasks for infants aged 12-24 months. MethodsX 2024; 12:102655. [PMID: 38559388 PMCID: PMC10978524 DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2024.102655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Creativity is an important skill that relates to innovation, problem-solving and artistic achievement. However, relatively little is known about the early development of creative potential in very young children, in part due to a paucity of tasks suitable for use during infancy. Current measures of creativity in early childhood include the Unusual Box Test, Torrance's Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) task and the Toca Kitchen Monsters task. These tasks are designed for children aged above 12, 36 and 18 months respectively, but very few measures of creativity can be used for infants aged below 2. Accordingly, here we report age-appropriate adaptations of TCAM and Toca Kitchen Monsters tasks for infants as young as 12 to 24 months. Considerations taken into account include (1) infants' cognitive capacities (i.e., attention span, language comprehension skills, motor skills, and approach to play), and (2) practicality of the stimuli, including suitability for use amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The modified creativity battery for infants includes three tasks: Music Play, Object Play and Exploratory Play tasks. The task protocols elaborated in this paper are intended to facilitate studies on the early development of creativity in infants aged between 12 and 24 months. Primary highlights include:•Age-appropriate adaptation of creativity tasks for use with infants aged between 12 and 24 months.•Consideration of infants' cognitive capacities and stimulus practicality.•Innovative use of movement as expression of infants' creative behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Zheng Teo
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Victoria Leong
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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6
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Harms MB, Xu Y, Green CS, Woodard K, Wilson R, Pollak SD. The structure and development of explore-exploit decision making. Cogn Psychol 2024; 150:101650. [PMID: 38461609 PMCID: PMC11275514 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2024.101650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
A critical component of human learning reflects the balance people must achieve between focusing on the utility of what they know versus openness to what they have yet to experience. How individuals decide whether to explore new options versus exploit known options has garnered growing interest in recent years. Yet, the component processes underlying decisions to explore and whether these processes change across development remain poorly understood. By contrasting a variety of tasks that measure exploration in slightly different ways, we found that decisions about whether to explore reflect (a) random exploration that is not explicitly goal-directed and (b) directed exploration to purposefully reduce uncertainty. While these components similarly characterized the decision-making of both youth and adults, younger participants made decisions that were less strategic, but more exploratory and flexible, than those of adults. These findings are discussed in terms of how people adapt to and learn from changing environments over time.Data has been made available in the Open Science Foundation platform (osf.io).
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline B Harms
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1202 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States.
| | - Yuyan Xu
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1202 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States
| | - C Shawn Green
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1202 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States
| | - Kristina Woodard
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1202 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States
| | - Robert Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E. University Blvd. (Building 68), Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| | - Seth D Pollak
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1202 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706, United States
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Kim K, Askin N, Evans JA. Disrupted routines anticipate musical exploration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2306549121. [PMID: 38300861 PMCID: PMC10861857 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306549121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding and predicting the emergence and evolution of cultural tastes manifested in consumption patterns is of central interest to social scientists, analysts of culture, and purveyors of content. Prior research suggests that taste preferences relate to personality traits, values, shifts in mood, and immigration destination. Understanding everyday patterns of listening and the function music plays in life has remained elusive, however, despite speculation that musical nostalgia may compensate for local disruption. Using more than one hundred million streams of four million songs by tens of thousands of international listeners from a global music service, we show that breaches in personal routine are systematically associated with personal musical exploration. As people visited new cities and countries, their preferences diversified, converging toward their travel destinations. As people experienced the very different disruptions associated with COVID-19 lockdowns, their preferences diversified further. Personal explorations did not tend to veer toward the global listening average, but away from it, toward distinctive regional musical content. Exposure to novel music explored during periods of routine disruption showed a persistent influence on listeners' future consumption patterns. Across all of these settings, musical preference reflected rather than compensated for life's surprises, leaving a lasting legacy on tastes. We explore the relationship between these findings and global patterns of behavior and cultural consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khwan Kim
- Area of Organizational Behaviour, INSEAD, Fontainebleau77300, France
| | - Noah Askin
- Department of Organization and Management, The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California–Irvine, Irvine, CA92697
| | - James A. Evans
- Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL60637
- Knowledge Lab, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL60637
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8
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Lloyd A, Viding E, McKay R, Furl N. Understanding patch foraging strategies across development. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:1085-1098. [PMID: 37500422 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Patch foraging is a near-ubiquitous behaviour across the animal kingdom and characterises many decision-making domains encountered by humans. We review how a disposition to explore in adolescence may reflect the evolutionary conditions under which hunter-gatherers foraged for resources. We propose that neurocomputational mechanisms responsible for reward processing, learning, and cognitive control facilitate the transition from exploratory strategies in adolescence to exploitative strategies in adulthood - where individuals capitalise on known resources. This developmental transition may be disrupted by psychopathology, as there is emerging evidence of biases in explore/exploit choices in mental health problems. Explore/exploit choices may be an informative marker for mental health across development and future research should consider this feature of decision-making as a target for clinical intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Lloyd
- Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
| | - Essi Viding
- Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Ryan McKay
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Nicholas Furl
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
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9
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Venditti JA, Murrugarra E, McLean CR, Goldstein MH. Curiosity constructs communicative competence through social feedback loops. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2023; 65:99-134. [PMID: 37481302 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2023.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
One of the most important challenges for a developing infant is learning how best to allocate their attention and forage for information in the midst of a great deal of novel stimulation. We propose that infants of altricial species solve this challenge by learning selectively from events that are contingent on their immature behavior, such as babbling. Such a contingency filter would focus attention and learning on the behavior of social partners, because social behavior reliably fits infants' sensitivity to contingency. In this way a contingent response by a caregiver to an immature behavior becomes a source of learnable information - feedback - to the infant. Social interactions with responsive caregivers afford infants opportunities to explore the impacts of their immature behavior on their environment, which facilitates the development of socially guided learning. Furthermore, contingent interactions are opportunities to make and test predictions about the efficacy of their social behaviors and those of others. In this chapter, we will use prelinguistic vocal learning to exemplify how infants use their developing vocal abilities to elicit learnable information about language from their social partners. Specifically, we review how caregivers' contingent responses to babbling create information that facilitates infant vocal learning and drives the development of communication. Infants play an active role in this process, as their developing predictions about the consequences of their actions serve to further refine their allocation of attention and drive increases in the maturity of their vocal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A Venditti
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 270 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Emma Murrugarra
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 270 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Celia R McLean
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 270 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Michael H Goldstein
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 270 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY, United States.
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10
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Frankenhuis WE, Gopnik A. Early adversity and the development of explore-exploit tradeoffs. Trends Cogn Sci 2023:S1364-6613(23)00091-8. [PMID: 37142526 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Childhood adversity can have wide-ranging and long-lasting effects on later life. But what are the mechanisms that are responsible for these effects? This article brings together the cognitive science literature on explore-exploit tradeoffs, the empirical literature on early adversity, and the literature in evolutionary biology on 'life history' to explain how early experience influences later life. We propose one potential mechanism: early experiences influence 'hyperparameters' that determine the balance between exploration and exploitation. Adversity might accelerate a shift from exploration to exploitation, with broad and enduring effects on the adult brain and mind. These effects may be produced by life-history adaptations that use early experience to tailor development and learning to the likely future states of an organism and its environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem E Frankenhuis
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Alison Gopnik
- Department of Psychology and Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research, University of California at Berkeley, CA, USA
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Deoni SC, Beauchemin J, Volpe A, Dâ Sa V. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Early Child Cognitive Development: A Comparison of Development in Children Born During the Pandemic and Historical References. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2022:2021.08.10.21261846. [PMID: 34401887 PMCID: PMC8366807 DOI: 10.1101/2021.08.10.21261846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Objective To characterize cognitive function in young children under 3 years of age over the past decade, and test whether children exhibit different cognitive development profiles through the COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design Neurocognitive data (Mullen Scales of Early Learning, MSEL) were drawn from 700 healthy and neurotypically developing children between 2011 to 2021 without reported positive tests or clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We compared MSEL composite measures (general cognition, verbal, and non-verbal development) to test if those measured during 2020 and 2021 differed significantly from historical 2011-2019 values. We also compared MSEL values in a sub-cohort comprising infants 0-16 months of age born during the pandemic vs. infants born prior. In all analyses, we also included measures of socioeconomic status, birth outcome history, and maternal stress. Results A significant decrease in mean population MSEL measures was observed in 2021 compared to historical references. Infants born during the pandemic exhibited significantly reduced verbal, non-verbal, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic. Maternal stress was not found to be associated with observed declines but a higher socioeconomic status was found to be protective. Conclusions Results reveal a striking decline in cognitive performance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with infants born since mid-2020 showing an average decrease of 27-37 points. Further work is merited to understand the underlying causative factors.
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Topothai T, Suphanchaimat R, Topothai C, Tangcharoensathien V, Cetthakrikul N, Waleewong O. Self-Reported Parental Interactions through Play with Young Children in Thailand: An Analysis of the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19063418. [PMID: 35329102 PMCID: PMC8954988 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Parental interactions through play contributes significantly to child development of cognitive and executive functioning skills. In Thailand, there is little evidence of factors contributing to parental–child interactions. In response to SDG target 4.2.3 monitoring (the percentage of children under 5 years experiencing positive and stimulating home learning environments), this study aimed to assess the prevalence and profile of parental interactions with their children under the age of five. We analysed data from the 6th Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted by the National Statistical Office in 2019. Face-to-face interviews with mothers and/or legal guardians were conducted. A total of 8856 children under the age of five were enrolled in this survey. Most participants, 90.3%, had engaged in at least four out of six activities with their children. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that children raised by parents with secondary or post-secondary educations had a significantly greater chance to have parental interactions than children raised by parents who completed primary education (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.66, and AOR = 2.34 for secondary and post-secondary education). Children who possessed three or more children’s books and had experience of toy play had a significantly higher chance of having parental interactions (AOR = 3.08 for book possessing, and AOR = 1.50 for the experience of toy play). Children who spent 1–3 h daily screen time had a significantly lower chance of having parental interactions than those who spent less than one hour of screen time (AOR = 0.67). In conclusion, with the emerging influence of digital technology, we recommend family and community promote parental interactions through play with young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thitikorn Topothai
- International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand; (R.S.); (C.T.); (V.T.); (N.C.); (O.W.)
- Division of Physical Activity and Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +66-2590-2366
| | - Rapeepong Suphanchaimat
- International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand; (R.S.); (C.T.); (V.T.); (N.C.); (O.W.)
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
| | - Chompoonut Topothai
- International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand; (R.S.); (C.T.); (V.T.); (N.C.); (O.W.)
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore
- Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
| | - Viroj Tangcharoensathien
- International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand; (R.S.); (C.T.); (V.T.); (N.C.); (O.W.)
| | - Nisachol Cetthakrikul
- International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand; (R.S.); (C.T.); (V.T.); (N.C.); (O.W.)
| | - Orratai Waleewong
- International Health Policy Program, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand; (R.S.); (C.T.); (V.T.); (N.C.); (O.W.)
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13
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Leopold DA, Averbeck BB. Self-tuition as an essential design feature of the brain. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200530. [PMID: 34957855 PMCID: PMC8710880 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
We are curious by nature, particularly when young. Evolution has endowed our brain with an inbuilt obligation to educate itself. In this perspectives article, we posit that self-tuition is an evolved principle of vertebrate brain design that is reflected in its basic architecture and critical for its normal development. Self-tuition involves coordination between functionally distinct components of the brain, with one set of areas motivating exploration that leads to the experiences that train another set. We review key hypothalamic and telencephalic structures involved in this interplay, including their anatomical connections and placement within the segmental architecture of conserved forebrain circuits. We discuss the nature of educative behaviours motivated by the hypothalamus, innate stimulus biases, the relationship to survival in early life, and mechanisms by which telencephalic areas gradually accumulate knowledge. We argue that this aspect of brain function is of paramount importance for systems neuroscience, as it confers neural specialization and allows animals to attain far more sophisticated behaviours than would be possible through genetic mechanisms alone. Self-tuition is of particular importance in humans and other primates, whose large brains and complex social cognition rely critically on experience-based learning during a protracted childhood period. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Systems neuroscience through the lens of evolutionary theory’.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Leopold
- Section on Cognitive Neurophysiology and Imaging, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Neurophysiology Imaging Facility, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Bruno B Averbeck
- Section on Learning and Decision Making, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Aguirre M, Brun M, Couderc A, Reboul A, Senez P, Mascaro O. Knowledge in Sight: Toddlers Plan Efficient Epistemic Actions by Anticipating Learning Gains. Cogn Sci 2022; 46:e13103. [PMID: 35122298 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Anticipating the learning consequences of actions is crucial to plan efficient information seeking. Such a capacity is needed for learners to determine which actions are most likely to result in learning. Here, we tested the early ontogeny of the human capacity to anticipate the amount of learning gained from seeing. In study 1, we tested infants' capacity to anticipate the availability of sight. Fourteen-month-old infants (N = 72) were invited to search for a toy hidden inside a container. The participants were faster to attempt at opening a shutter when this action allowed them to see inside the container. Moreover, this effect was specifically observed when seeing inside the container was potentially useful to the participants' goals. Thus, infants anticipated the availability of sight, and they calibrated their information-seeking behaviors accordingly. In studies 2 and 3, we tested toddlers' capacity to anticipate whether data would be cognitively useful for their goals. Two-and-a-half-year-olds (N = 72) had to locate a target character hidden among distractors. The participants flipped the characters more often, and were comparatively faster to initiate this action when it yielded access to visual data allowing them to locate the target. Thus, toddlers planned their information-seeking behaviors by anticipating the cognitive utility of sight. In contrast, toddlers did not calibrate their behaviors to the cognitive usefulness of auditory data. These results suggest that cognitive models of learning guide toddlers' search for information. The early developmental onset of the capacity to anticipate future learning gains is crucial for active learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Aguirre
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center
| | - Mélanie Brun
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center
| | - Auriane Couderc
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center
| | - Anne Reboul
- Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, UMR 7290, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University
| | - Philomène Senez
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center
| | - Olivier Mascaro
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center
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Gopnik A, Frankenhuis WE, Tomasello M. Introduction to special issue: 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190489. [PMID: 32475324 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
This special issue focuses on the relationship between life history and learning, especially during human evolution. 'Life history' refers to the developmental programme of an organism, including its period of immaturity, reproductive rate and timing, caregiving investment and longevity. Across many species an extended childhood and high caregiving investment appear to be correlated with particular kinds of plasticity and learning. Human life history is particularly distinctive; humans evolved an exceptionally long childhood and old age, and an unusually high level of caregiving investment, at the same time that they evolved distinctive capacities for cognition and culture. The contributors explore the relations between life history, plasticity and learning across a wide range of methods and populations, including theoretical and empirical work in biology, anthropology and developmental psychology. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Gopnik
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Room 3302, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
| | - Willem E Frankenhuis
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, PO Box 9104, Nijmegen 6500 HE, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Tomasello
- Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0187, USA.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Uomini N, Fairlie J, Gray RD, Griesser M. Extended parenting and the evolution of cognition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190495. [PMID: 32475334 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional attempts to understand the evolution of human cognition compare humans with other primates. This research showed that relative brain size covaries with cognitive skills, while adaptations that buffer the developmental and energetic costs of large brains (e.g. allomaternal care), and ecological or social benefits of cognitive abilities, are critical for their evolution. To understand the drivers of cognitive adaptations, it is profitable to consider distant lineages with convergently evolved cognitions. Here, we examine the facilitators of cognitive evolution in corvid birds, where some species display cultural learning, with an emphasis on family life. We propose that extended parenting (protracted parent-offspring association) is pivotal in the evolution of cognition: it combines critical life-history, social and ecological conditions allowing for the development and maintenance of cognitive skillsets that confer fitness benefits to individuals. This novel hypothesis complements the extended childhood idea by considering the parents' role in juvenile development. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we show that corvids have larger body sizes, longer development times, extended parenting and larger relative brain sizes than other passerines. Case studies from two corvid species with different ecologies and social systems highlight the critical role of life-history features on juveniles' cognitive development: extended parenting provides a safe haven, access to tolerant role models, reliable learning opportunities and food, resulting in higher survival. The benefits of extended juvenile learning periods, over evolutionary time, lead to selection for expanded cognitive skillsets. Similarly, in our ancestors, cooperative breeding and increased group sizes facilitated learning and teaching. Our analyses highlight the critical role of life-history, ecological and social factors that underlie both extended parenting and expanded cognitive skillsets. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Uomini
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Russell D Gray
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, Jena, Germany.,School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Michael Griesser
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Department of Ecology and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People's Republic of China.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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