The Seven Sins of Evolutionary Psychology - Konrad Lorenz Institute

Shulamith Kreitlerdevelopmental level of the CO cluster the requirementis for perfect or almost perfect consistency inthe orientativeness of the beliefs. All relevant beliefsmust support the behavior; otherwise no CO clusteris formed. With evolution the standards of requirementsare loosened, until the stage is reached whenconsistency is required only within the CO clusterbut not among all beliefs relevant for the behavior.Thus, the primary question “Do all beliefs supportthe behavior?” is replaced by the question “Is theresufficient support for the behavior?” This developmentenables the accumulation or generation of beliefsof all kinds, without prior consideration of thebehaviors which they could support or not. Subsequently,further beliefs are generated or acquiredwithout regard for their actual or potential contradictionwith the already existing beliefs. Removal ofthe constraints on belief accumulation enables agreat enrichment of cognitive contents. The impacton cognitive development is remarkable.Furthermore, it can be expected that also the criterionfor ‘sufficient support’ becomes more flexiblewith time so that assessing sufficiency is based notonly on the number of involved beliefs but also onadditional aspects, such as the situational context,kind of behavior, and meaningfulness of the beliefsThe fourth phase is focused on behavior performance.The major evolutionary developments referto the activation, adaptation and enactment of thebehavioral programs.Activation involves identifying and evoking theadequate program. On the lower evolutionary levels,each behavioral program is related to a specific stimulusor range of stimuli. Under these conditions,identifying the adequate program consists in retrievingit as a response when the proper stimulus appears.Identifying and retrieving are not yet differentiated.When behavioral programs undergodissociation from the releasing stimuli, retrieval becomesa matter of search in memory for the adequateprogram. The selection process involves focusing ona pattern of behavior that is marked as ‘adequate’and searching in memory for a pattern that matchesthe constructed concept to a satisfying or ‘satisficing’degree. The ‘adequate’ program is initially searchedfrom among those stored in memory, and in laterevolutionary levels may be shaped or constructed adhoc.Adaptation of programs involves an interactionbetween the program and the available circumstancesthat results in transforming the program sothat it increasingly matches the circumstances. Developmentbrings about an ever-increasing adequacyin the fit between the behavioral program andthe context in which the behavior takes place. Accordingly,adaptation consists in a gradual departurefrom rigid action units or sequences in favor of flexible,changing, and variable behaviors. The differencebecomes most apparent when one comparesthe relative flexibility in the operation of instincts,especially in the appetitive stage, with the rigidity inthe operation of reflexes. It is as if the stored behavioralprogram becomes a paradigm for a set of variationsthat assume unique shapes when set in operationin reality.Enactment of programs involves an interactionbetween the program and the emerging reality contingentupon setting it in operation. Initially, enactmentis examined only in terms of the end-point(i.e., has the action been terminated or not). Laterdevelopments introduce control over intermediateand primary stages of enactment. Control consistsfirst in determining whether the action takes placeor not, but it evolves into a more complex operationwhich includes also evaluation of the operation itselfand its outcomes and the possibility of modifyingit, if necessary. Thus, control assumes graduallyan autonomous status from the performance itself.Thereby it becomes increasingly more cognitive andenables the introduction of additional criteria forthe implementation of control. On the lower evolutionarylevels the main criteria for evaluating ongoingperformance is the occurrence of the activity itself(namely, whether the action occurs and runs toits end), implemented by utility (the pragmatic evaluationin terms of whether the straightforward goalwas attained). Evolution enables the introduction offurther criteria, mainly whether the action and/orthe goal attainment are emotionally satisfying,whether they conform to social desirability, whetherthey are useful also in promoting the attainment ofother goals, whether they conform to standards ofreasonableness or rationality, whether they were sufficientlyeconomical in the use of resources (such as,time, money, energy), whether they satisfy aestheticrequirements, etc. Notably, the application of considerationsof this kind for evaluating the performanceand its outcomes serve to enhance the integrationof behavior into the system of personality.ConclusionsOne major conclusion of this paper is that the cognitiveguidance of behavior is an evolutionary product,reflecting multiple developmental trends.Major among these are the differentiation betweenEvolution and Cognition ❘ 94 ❘ 2001, Vol. 7, No. 1