Krause Mark A
Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, 97520, USA,
Anim Cogn. 2015 Jul;18(4):807-20. doi: 10.1007/s10071-015-0854-4. Epub 2015 Mar 11.
Inquiry into evolutionary adaptations has flourished since the modern synthesis of evolutionary biology. Comparative methods, genetic techniques, and various experimental and modeling approaches are used to test adaptive hypotheses. In psychology, the concept of adaptation is broadly applied and is central to comparative psychology and cognition. The concept of an adaptive specialization of learning is a proposed account for exceptions to general learning processes, as seen in studies of Pavlovian conditioning of taste aversions, sexual responses, and fear. The evidence generally consists of selective associations forming between biologically relevant conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, with conditioned responses differing in magnitude, persistence, or other measures relative to non-biologically relevant stimuli. Selective associations for biologically relevant stimuli may suggest adaptive specializations of learning, but do not necessarily confirm adaptive hypotheses as conceived of in evolutionary biology. Exceptions to general learning processes do not necessarily default to an adaptive specialization explanation, even if experimental results "make biological sense". This paper examines the degree to which hypotheses of adaptive specializations of learning in sexual and fear response systems have been tested using methodologies developed in evolutionary biology (e.g., comparative methods, quantitative and molecular genetics, survival experiments). A broader aim is to offer perspectives from evolutionary biology for testing adaptive hypotheses in psychological science.
自进化生物学的现代综合理论出现以来，对进化适应性的探究蓬勃发展。比较方法、遗传技术以及各种实验和建模方法被用于检验适应性假说。在心理学中，适应概念得到广泛应用，并且是比较心理学和认知的核心。学习的适应性特化概念是针对一般学习过程中的例外情况提出的一种解释，如在味觉厌恶、性反应和恐惧的巴甫洛夫条件反射研究中所见。证据通常包括在生物学相关的条件刺激和无条件刺激之间形成的选择性关联，与非生物学相关刺激相比，条件反应在幅度、持续性或其他指标上有所不同。生物学相关刺激的选择性关联可能表明学习的适应性特化，但不一定能证实进化生物学中所设想的适应性假说。即使实验结果“符合生物学意义”，一般学习过程中的例外情况也不一定默认采用适应性特化解释。本文探讨了使用进化生物学中发展起来的方法（如比较方法、定量和分子遗传学、生存实验）对性反应系统和恐惧反应系统中学习的适应性特化假说进行检验的程度。一个更广泛的目标是为在心理科学中检验适应性假说提供进化生物学的视角。
