Evolutionary educational psychology is the study of the relation between evolved systems of folk knowledge and inferential and attributional biases as these relate to academic learning in modern society. Following discussion and illustration of the mechanisms of natural selection and their application to human motivational, cognitive, and behavioral evolution, the basic premises and principles of evolutionary educational psychology are outlined. The gist is that the evolved cognitive systems and inferential biases that define folk knowledge are not sufficient for academic learning, but, at the same time, are the foundation from which academic competencies are built. A theoretical frame outlining the relation between folk knowledge and academic development is proposed and implications for motivational issues and instructional practices are detailed.
The principles of natural and sexual selection are being used to guide theoretical and empirical research in the behavioral and social sciences with increasing frequency (e.g., Buunk et al., 1996, Gangestad & Thornhill, 1998, Geary, 1998a, Pinker, 1997 and Taylor et al., 2000. Nearly all of this research has focused on social behavior, cognitive mechanisms, and other phenomena that are thought to be evolved and universal adaptations, that is, features of human behavior (e.g., language) that are evident in all cultures (e.g., Tooby & Cosmides, 1995). The search for universal adaptations has generated both controversy and substantive theoretical and empirical advances. At the same time, the focus on universal adaptations has directed attention away from an equally important issue, that is, the relation between evolved social and cognitive biases and the expression and acquisition of culturally specific behaviors and cognitions (Flinn, 1997). Of particular relevance to modern society is the relation between evolved social and cognitive biases and children's motivation and ability to learn in school (Geary, 1995), as school-taught competencies influence employability, wages, and the ease of day-to-day living in these societies (e.g., Grogger & Eide, 1995).
Accordingly, the goal here is to develop a theoretical framework that outlines the relation between universal social and cognitive adaptations and academic learning, and provides direction for future instructional research. To fully comprehend the foundations of the model, a primer on the mechanisms of natural and sexual selection in general and as related to human evolution in particular is needed and provided in the first part below. The basic premises and principles of evolutionary educational psychology are provided in the second part, along with discussion of related motivational and instructional implications.
The principles of evolutionary educational psychology will provide a much needed anchor for guiding instructional research and practice. An evolutionarily informed science of academic development is in fact the only perspective that readily accommodates basic observations that elude explanation by other theoretical perspectives, such as constructivism (Geary, 1995). For instance, it follows logically from the principles of evolutionary educational psychology that children will learn language easily and without formal instruction, and years later many of these children will have difficulty learning to read and write even with formal instruction. A more novel prediction is that reading and writing will involve the cooptation of the motivational and cognitive systems that define folk psychology, given that reading and writing, like folk psychology, are forms of social communication. Research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience support this prediction Bradley & Bryant, 1983 and Pugh et al., 1997. This is not to say that the principles outlined here are the final word on the relation between evolved social and cognitive biases and academic development. Rather, they should be viewed as the blueprint for conceptualizing academic development and guiding instructional theory and research. There is much to be learned about the specifics of folk knowledge and associated inferential and attributional biases and still more to be learned of their relation to academic learning.
