Evolutionary Approaches to Understanding Children's Academic Achievement
Title
Evolutionary Approaches to Understanding Children's Academic Achievement
Author
Geary, David C.
Berch, Daniel B.
Research Area
Development
Topic
Evolutionary Bases of Development
Abstract
There are evolved cognitive biases that influence what people pay attention to (e.g., faces, not rocks) and how they interpret this information (e.g., underlying intentions). These cognitive biases are organized to help us understand ourselves and other people (folk psychology), other species (folk biology), and the physical world (folk physics). Human cultural advances have resulted in the development of evolutionarily novel concepts (e.g., natural selection) and skills (e.g., reading) that are built from this evolved core. The basic architecture of folk cognitive biases is universal and adapted to nuances in local conditions as children play, interact with other people, and explore the environment. The learning of evolutionarily novel competencies is necessary for success in today's economy but children do not learn these as easily as they adapt folk knowledge nor are they as motivated to engage in the associated activities. This is because learning academic competencies requires adapting folk systems for tasks for which they did not evolve. The associated activities (e.g., direct instruction) are very different from the activities (e.g., play) that foster the adaptation of folk abilities to local conditions. Schooling thus involves the society‐wide organization of children's activities so they learn competencies that would not otherwise emerge. This perspective allows us to better understand the importance of working memory, a motivational focus on effort, and the need for explicit, organized instruction for children's learning in school.