Reader Simon M
Department of Biology, McGill University.
Top Cogn Sci. 2015 Jul;7(3):451-68. doi: 10.1111/tops.12148. Epub 2015 May 18.
Numerous studies have documented individual differences in exploratory tendencies and other phenomena related to search, and these differences have been linked to fitness. Here, I discuss the origins of these differences, focusing on how experience shapes animal search and exploration. The origin of individual differences will also depend upon the alternatives to exploration that are available. Given that search and exploration frequently carry significant costs, we might expect individuals to utilize cues indicating the potential net payoffs of exploration versus the exploitation of known acts. Informative cues could arise from both recent and early-life experiences, from both the social and physical environment. Open questions are the extent to which an individual's exploratory tendencies are fixed throughout life versus being flexibly adjusted according to prevailing conditions and the actions of other individuals, and the extent to which individual differences in exploration extend across domains and are independent of other processes.
众多研究记录了探索倾向及其他与搜索相关现象中的个体差异，且这些差异已与适应性联系起来。在此，我将探讨这些差异的起源，重点关注经验如何塑造动物的搜索和探索行为。个体差异的起源还将取决于可供选择的探索替代方式。鉴于搜索和探索常常会带来巨大成本，我们可能会预期个体利用线索来表明探索与利用已知行为的潜在净收益。信息线索可能源于近期和早期生活经历，源于社会和物理环境。存在的开放性问题是，个体的探索倾向在一生中固定不变的程度，与根据当前状况和其他个体的行为进行灵活调整的程度，以及探索中的个体差异在不同领域延伸且独立于其他过程的程度。
