Alberts J R
Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
Acta Paediatr Suppl. 1994 Jun;397:77-85. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13269.x.
The present report advocates an adaptive, ecological approach to the study of learning in infants. Concepts of developmental niche and ontogenetic adaptation are applied to early mammalian development. Within this conceptual framework, it is asserted that learning cannot be fully understood separately from a behaving body; that learning is a dimension of behavior and physiology. The role of learning in the development of ingestive behavior, especially suckling and the transition to solid food, is used to illustrate the potential of studying learning in development. These considerations are offered as examples of an alternative approach to the empirical study of learning by infants. The approach advocated herein can be applied to clinical issues: developmental adaptations evolved in contexts that differ from our modern environments. Exposure to contexts or contingencies that are evolutionarily unexpected may inadvertently create pathology.
本报告主张采用一种适应性的、生态学的方法来研究婴儿的学习。发展生态位和个体发生适应的概念被应用于早期哺乳动物的发育。在这个概念框架内，有人断言，学习不能脱离行为主体而被充分理解；学习是行为和生理的一个维度。学习在摄食行为发展中的作用，特别是吸吮和向固体食物的过渡，被用来阐明研究发育过程中学习的潜力。这些思考作为一种替代方法的例子，用于对婴儿学习进行实证研究。本文所倡导的方法可应用于临床问题：在与我们现代环境不同的背景下进化而来的发育适应。接触在进化上意想不到的环境或意外情况可能会无意中导致病理状况。
