scholarly journals Variation and Selection: The Evolutionary Analogy and the Convergence of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology

1992 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Morgan ◽  
Robin K. Morgan ◽  
James M. Toth
2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-54
Author(s):  
Richard Boyd

AbstractFor all the recent discoveries of behavioral psychology and experimental economics, the spirit of homo economicus still dominates the contemporary disciplines of economics, political science, and sociology. Turning back to the earliest chapters of political economy, however, reveals that pioneering figures such as Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, and Adam Smith were hardly apostles of economic rationality as they are often portrayed in influential narratives of the development of the social sciences. As we will see, while all three of these thinkers can plausibly be read as endorsing “rationality,” they were also well aware of the systematic irrationality of human conduct, including a remarkable number of the cognitive biases later “discovered” by contemporary behavioral economists. Building on these insights I offer modest suggestions for how these thinkers, properly understood, might carry the behavioral revolution in different directions than those heretofore suggested.


1981 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-444
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Kratochwill ◽  
John R. Bergan ◽  
F. Charles Mace

1995 ◽  
Vol 349 (1329) ◽  
pp. 297-297

Many cellular mechanisms use a process of variation and selection to generate specific patterns. Among these, dynamic instability of microtubules has been shown to employ a specific mechanism to intentionally generate variation. In many systems the growth of neurons or neuronal processes is excessive, the final connections being established by stabilization of functional interactions. When changes in neuronal networks take place, such as in metamorphosis, use is made of the plasticity of neuronal connectivity. In the immune system, specific responses are generated by variation and selection. Processes that explore a wide range of conditions and a wide range of structures can be called exploratory processes. These are very robust and capable of responding to damage, variability in the environment and ontogenic changes in the organisms. Such robustness would be useful for adapting to changes that occur during phylogenetic changes as well. Given the extensive history of extinction and radiation in evolution, it may be supposed that these mechanisms have themselves been selected for their capacity to survive rapid changes in the organism and for their ability to generate cellular variation.


2015 ◽  
pp. 29-55
Author(s):  
Matthew Fanetti ◽  
William O'Donhue ◽  
Rachel Fondren Happel ◽  
Kresta Daly

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valdenilson Ribeiro Ribas ◽  
Renata de Melo Guerra Ribas ◽  
Hugo André de Lima Martins

ABSTRACT The Learning Curve (TLC) in neurofeedback concept emerged after Peter Van Deusen compiled the results of articles on the expected electrical activity of the brain. This concept was subsequently tested on patients at four clinics in Atlanta between 1994 and 2001. The aim of this paper was to report the historical aspects of TLC. Articles published on the electronic databases MEDLINE/PubMed and Web of Science were reviewed. During patient evaluation, TLC investigates categories called disconnected, hot temporal lobes, reversal of alpha and beta waves, blocking, locking, and filtering or processing. This enables neuroscientists to use their training designs and, by means of behavioral psychology, to work on neuroregulation, as self-regulation for patients. TLC shows the relationships between electrical, mental and behavioral activity in patients. It also identifies details of patterns that can assist physicians in their choice of treatment.


1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (1_2) ◽  
pp. 39-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Schuster

Molecular evolution provides an ample field for the extension of Nature's principles towards novel applications. Several examples are discussed here, among them are evolution in the test tube, nucleotide chemistry with new base pairs and new backbones, enzyme-free replication of polynucleotides and template chemistry aiming at replicating structures that have nothing in common with the molecules from nature. Molecular evolution in the test tube provides a uniquely simple system for the study of evolutionary phenomena: genotype and phenotype are two features of one and the same RNA molecule. Then fitness landscapes are nothing more than combined mappings from sequences to structures and from structures to functions, the latter being expressed in terms of rate constants. RNA landscapes are presented as examples for which an access to phenomena in reality by mathematical analysis and computer simulations is feasible. New questions concerning stability of structures in evolution can be raised and quantitative answers are given. Evolutionary biotechnology is a spin-off from molecular evolution. Darwin's principle of variation and selection is applied to design novel biopolymers with predetermined functions. Different approaches to achieve this goal are discussed and a survey of the current state of the art is given.


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