The Seven Sins of Evolutionary Psychology - Konrad Lorenz Institute

An Evolutionary Perspective on Cognitive OrientationMeaning is a concept that plays a major role incognition. It is defined as a pattern of cognitive contents(called ‘meaning value’, e.g., a color, an emotion)focused on some input (called referent, e.g., astimulus, an object) that is expressed verbally ornonverbally, and forms together with the input orsubject a meaning unit. Examples of meaning unitsare The sea—blue; Table—made of wood; Car—withfour doors; Virus—scary. In a given context meaningconsists of a sequence of meaning units, each ofwhich may be characterized in terms of the contentsassigned to the subject (e.g., causes, sensory qualities)and the relations between it and the subject(e.g., its directness, generality). The characterizationsconstitute a set of variables (called ‘meaningvariables’) which enable assessing the meaning ofany input or the meaning assignment tendencies ofan individual. Meaning includes the more interpersonalpart as well as the more personal–subjectivepart, and may vary in contents, structure, varietyand complexity (KREITLER/KREITLER 1985, 1986,1987a, 1989, 1990a, 1990b; KREITLER 1999).Meaning provides the raw materials for the contentsof cognition and the functional frames for theprocesses of cognition. Accordingly, cognition maybe defined as a system which produces, elaborates,transforms, stores and uses meanings. Hence, theproperties, contents, processes, functioning andproducts of cognition are functions of meaning.When we conceive of a cognitive model of motivation,we talk in fact of a model of motivation inwhich meaning fulfills a major role. Basically, the COmodel is a model based largely—though not exclusively—onthe construction, transformation and applicationof meanings. It describes the processes interveningbetween input and output not as a seriesof rational decisions or problem solving, but as outputsof meanings and clustered orientative beliefs,which give rise to motivational dispositions manifestedin behavior.The Cognitive Orientation Theory:General CharacteristicsIn its original presentations CO was a theory of cognitivemotivation of behavior elaborated in regardto overt behaviors (KREITLER/KREITLER 1965, 1972,1976, 1982). Later developments led to the elaborationof models applicable to further specificdomains, such as emotions, physiological processesof disease and health, psychopathology and cognitivebehaviors (KREITLER 1999; KREITLER/KREITLER1986, 1989, 1991a, b, 1997). Accordingly, at presentit would be justified to distinguish between the differentmore specific CO models and the comprehensiveCO theory, which refers to the generaltheoretical concepts and procedures characteristicfor all these models. In the present context we willfocus on the basic CO theory and CO model ofbehavior.CO is a cognitive model of behavior designed toprovide an account of the major processes interveningbetween input and output and to enable understanding,predicting and changing human behavior.This introductory statement emphasizes several importantcharacteristics of the CO model. First, asnoted, the original application domain of CO hasbeen human behavior. Secondly, it is a model focusedon actual observable overt behavior, as distinguishedfrom self-reported behavior or decisions toact, commitments to action and other replacementsof behavior. Thirdly, the purpose of the model is toprovide concepts and methods that would be directlyapplicable for understanding retrospectively,predicting prospectively, and changing at presenthuman behavior. While different psychologicalmethods allow in principle indirectly the attainmentof the specified goals, the special characteristicof the CO model is that it enables attaining the mentionedgoals by the same methods (rather than onegoal by one method, and another goal by anothermethod) and that it functions by direct applicationof the methods so that interpretational pitfalls areavoided on the way. Fourthly, the CO model is acomprehensive model that addresses all the majorlinks and stages intervening between the input andthe output, in contrast to other motivational modelsthat focus on one or another stage or aspect of theprocess (e.g., planned behavior, AJZEN 1985; healthbelief model, BECKER 1974).The basic thesis of the CO theory is that cognitivecontents and processes guide behavior. The rationalefor this thesis is twofold. The first reason is rooted inthe empirical–scientific approach of psychology. Onthe human level there is a large body of researchdemonstrating the contributions of cognition to behaviorand the utility of this assumption (for a reviewsee KREITLER 2002).The second reason is rooted in the more generalevolutionary approach. It assumes that since cognitionhas undergone such a spectacular developmentin the course of evolution (WILSON 1978, p87), it ishardly possible that it does not contribute to behaviorwhich is the prime tool of survival. In this sense,CO is embedded in evolutionary epistemology,which conceives of a continuum from biological toEvolution and Cognition ❘ 83 ❘ 2001, Vol. 7, No. 1