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Why aren’t we smarter already : evolutionary trade-offs and cognitive enhancements
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Hills, Thomas Trenholm and Hertwig , Ralph (2011) Why aren’t we smarter already : evolutionary trade-offs and cognitive enhancements. Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol.20 (No.6). pp. 373-377. doi:10.1177/096372141141830 ISSN 0963-7214.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/096372141141830
Abstract
Pharmacological enhancers of cognition promise a bright new future for humankind: more focus, more willpower, and better
memory, with applications ranging from education to military combat. Underlying such promises is a linear, more-is-better
vision of cognition that makes intuitive sense. This vision is at odds, however, with our understanding of cognition’s evolutionary origins. The mind has evolved under various constraints and consequently represents a delicate balance among these constraints. Evidence of the trade-offs that have shaped cognition include (a) inverted U-shaped performance curves commonly found in response to pharmacological interventions and (b) unintended side effects of enhancement on other traits. Taking an evolutionary perspective, we frame the above two sets of findings in terms of within-task (exemplified by optimal-control problems) and between-task (associated with a gain/loss asymmetry) trade-offs, respectively. With this framework, psychological science can provide much-needed guidance to enhancement development, a field that still lacks a theoretical foundation.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Current Directions in Psychological Science | ||||
Publisher: | Sage Publications Ltd. | ||||
ISSN: | 0963-7214 | ||||
Official Date: | 2011 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.20 | ||||
Number: | No.6 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 373-377 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1177/096372141141830 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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