Learning as a form of adaptation has been shown to benefit the evolutionary process through the Baldwin Effect, promoting the adaptivity of an evolving population. Learning generally can be classified into two types: asocial learning, e.g., trial-and-error; and social learning, e.g., imitation learning. Recent research has shown that a learning strategy (or learning rule) – which combines social and asocial learning in a strategic way – can be more adaptive than either type of learning functioning alone. However, this general finding leaves open the important question as to how best to combine these forms of learning in differing environmental conditions. This paper investigates this question under a variety of environmental dynamics and also provides some indications for future work.
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How Learning Strategies Can Promote an Evolving Population in Dynamic Environments
Semantic Scholar · Psychology · 2019
Abstract
Learning as a form of adaptation has been shown to benefit the evolutionary process through the Baldwin Effect, promoting the adaptivity of an evolving population. Learning generally can be classified into two types: asocial learning, e.g., trial-and-error; and social learning, e.g., imitation learning. Recent research has shown that a learning strategy (or learning rule) – which combines social and asocial learning in a strategic way – can be more adaptive than either type of learning functioning alone. However, this general finding leaves open the important question as to how best to combine these forms of learning in differing environmental conditions. This paper investigates this question under a variety of environmental dynamics and also provides some indications for future work.