Montag, 22. August 2011

The Evolution of Domain-General Mechanisms in Intelligence and Learning

The Evolution of Domain-General Mechanisms in Intelligence and Learning
Dan Chiappe and Kevin MacDonald (2003)


Abstract

For both humans and animals, domain-general mechanisms are fallible but powerful tools for attaining evolutionary goals (e.g., resources) in uncertain, novel environments that were not recurrent features of the environment of evolutionary adaptedness. Domain-general mechanisms interact in complex ways with domain-specific, information encapsulated modules, most importantly by manipulating information obtained from various modules in attempting to solve novel problems. Mechanisms of general intelligence, particularly the executive functions of working memory, underlie analogical reasoning as well as the decontextualization processes that are central to human thought. Although there is a variety of evolved, special purpose learning devices, learning is also characterized by domain-general mechanisms able to achieve evolutionary goals by making novel and serendipitous associations with environmental cues.

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