Evolutionary Approaches to Understanding Children's Academic Achievement

Bibliographic Data

ID23730815
AuthorsDavid C Geary (0000-0003-3029-6343, University of Missouri), Daniel B Berch (University of Virginia)
Year2015
Pages1-10
Publication date2015-05-15
Open AccessYes
TypeOTHER
VenueEmerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (JOURNAL)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781118900772.etrds0123
OpenAlexW1536512058
ISBN9781118900772
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

There are evolved cognitive biases that influence what people pay attention to (e.g., faces, not rocks) and how they interpret this information (e.g., underlying intentions). These cognitive biases are organized to help us understand ourselves and other people (folk psychology), other species (folk biology), and the physical world (folk physics). Human cultural advances have resulted in the development of evolutionarily novel concepts (e.g., natural selection) and skills (e.g., reading) that are built from this evolved core. The basic architecture of folk cognitive biases is universal and adapted to nuances in local conditions as children play, interact with other people, and explore the environment. The learning of evolutionarily novel competencies is necessary for success in today's economy but children do not learn these as easily as they adapt folk knowledge nor are they as motivated to engage in the associated activities. This is because learning academic competencies requires adapting folk systems for tasks for which they did not evolve. The associated activities (e.g., direct instruction) are very different from the activities (e.g., play) that foster the adaptation of folk abilities to local conditions. Schooling thus involves the society‐wide organization of children's activities so they learn competencies that would not otherwise emerge. This perspective allows us to better understand the importance of working memory, a motivational focus on effort, and the need for explicit, organized instruction for children's learning in school.

Adaptation (eye) · Cognition · Cognitive architecture · Cognitive development · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Folk psychology · Linguistics · Natural (archaeology) · Natural selection · Niche construction · Perspective (graphical) · Reading (process) · Selection (genetic algorithm) · Artificial Intelligence · Child and Animal Learning Development · Computer Science · Ecology · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Language and cultural evolution · Psychology

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