Adaptive Memory Remembering With a Stone-Age Brain

摘要: If memory evolved, sculpted by the processes of natural selection, then its operating characteristics likely bear “footprints” ancestral selection pressures. Psychologists rarely consider this possibility and generally ignore functional questions in their attempt to understand how human works. We propose that evolved enhance reproductive fitness and, accordingly, systems are tuned retain information is fitness-relevant. present evidence consistent with proposal, namely processing for survival relevance leads superior long-term retention—better, fact, than most known memory-enhancement techniques. Even if one remains skeptical about evolutionary analyses, adopting a perspective can lead generation new research ideas.