1. CLPS0020: Introduction to Cognitive Science
Nature Nurture
CLPS0020: Introduction to Cognitive Science
Professor Dave Sobel
Fall 2016

2. Basic Continuum
Nature
Nurture

3. What do these really mean?
Nature – The degree to which your genetics determines knowledge and mental faculties
Nurture – The degree to which your experience determines knowledge and mental faculties
Learning vs. Development

4. These definitions make the continuum stupid
Nature
Nurture
What does it mean to be here?

5. Segregation by Motion
Habituation Event
Kellman and Spelke (1983) habituated 4-mo-olds to an object moving behind a barrier.
Dishabituated to two objects, but not to one.
Infants interpreted the motion as signifying an object, not two individual objects
Test Events

6. Thoughts Innate ability or learned quickly?
Regolin and Vallortigara (1995) imprinted chicks to occluded triangles – chicks interpreted this as a completed triangle
But replication of K&S (Slater et al., 1990) gets on newborns gets reverse finding.
Nativist response...
Etc.

7. Maybe the space looks like this
Nature
Nurture
But what’s the rest of the space?

8. So, let’s stop thinking this is a continuum
And rather, suggest two kinds of developmental processes (Gottlieb, 1992)
Deterministic Epigensis
Unidirectional relation from genes  neural systems  behavior
Probabilistic Epigensis
Bidirecional relations among genes, neural systems, and behaviors

9. Example of Deterministic Epigensis (1)
Core Knowledge (Spelke & Kinzler)
Genetics predetermines particular domain specific knowledge structures
Shared with lower animals
Maturation (Leslie, 1987; Johnson, 2000)
Experience triggers the emergence of genetic structures
Sensitive periods
Constructivism
Infant is born with certain knowledge structures and a learning mechanism
Piaget (Reflexes, Domain Generality, Assimilation and Accommodation) (Piaget, 1950, 1952)
Theory Theory (Innate Specific Theories, Causal Learning) (Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997; Gopnik, Glymour, Sobel et al., 2004)

10. Examples of Probabilistic Epigensis
Neoconstructivism
Development of mental faculties early on indicate both knowledge and cognitive capacities
Note domain generality and cascading principles
Neuroconstructivism
Brain is functioning while it is developing, and changing based on activation it receives from the environment in addition to its own maturation
Note Marr’s levels of analysis

11. Probabilistic Epigensis in Action
Dogs will interpret human gaze as referential when directed at object, but not space (Hare & Tomasello, 2005)
Domesticated Foxes?
Breed of Fox in Siberia bred for fur. Generations were bred for whether they were more or less fearful of human attendants
Results in inbreeding of foxes who want to be around human beings
These foxes are more likely to read human gaze than control foxes of same species (Hare et al., 2005)
Interestingly, interpreted as evidence for theory theory