The DOI matches its Crossref record; 169 of the 169 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
An Evolutionarily Informed Education Science
Abstract
Schools are a central interface between evolution and culture. They are the contexts in which children learn the evolutionarily novel abilities and knowledge needed to function as adults in modern societies. Evolutionary educational psychology is the study of how an evolved bias in children's learning and motivational systems influences their ability and motivation to learn evolutionarily novel academic abilities and information in school. I provide an overview of evolved domains of mind, corresponding learning and motivational biases, and the evolved systems that allow humans to learn about and cope with variation and change within lifetimes. The latter enable the creation of cultural and academic innovations and support the learning of evolutionarily novel information in school. These mechanisms and the premises and principles of evolutionary educational psychology are described. Their utility is illustrated by discussion of the relation between evolved motivational dispositions and children's academic motivation and by the relation between evolved social-cognitive systems and mechanisms that support children's learning to read.
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Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“acquiring biologically secondary knowledge is thought to require conscious mental effort”
From The Cognitive Architecture of Digital Externalization (2023) · cites this paper as Geary, 2008
In the citing paper
“humans can acquire biologically secondary knowledge, which encompasses all knowledge that must be explicitly learned”
From The Cognitive Architecture of Digital Externalization (2023) · cites this paper as Geary, 2008
In the citing paper
“Working memory limitations may be critical only when acquiring novel information based on culturally important knowledge that we have not specifically evolved to acquire.”
From An Evolutionary Upgrade of Cognitive Load Theory: Using the Human Motor System and Collaboration to Support the Learning of Complex Cognitive Tasks (2012) · cites this paper as Geary 2008
In the citing paper
“Working memory limitations may have reduced significance when acquiring novel information that the human brain specifically has evolved to process, known as biologically primary information.”
From An Evolutionary Upgrade of Cognitive Load Theory: Using the Human Motor System and Collaboration to Support the Learning of Complex Cognitive Tasks (2012) · cites this paper as Geary 2008
In the citing paper
“Geary's evolutionary educational psychology with its distinction between biologically primary knowledge that we have evolved to acquire, and biologically secondary knowledge that has become culturally important but for many people frequently difficult to acquire, may provide us with a theoretical foundation for designing cognitive load-based instructional design.”
From An Evolutionary Upgrade of Cognitive Load Theory: Using the Human Motor System and Collaboration to Support the Learning of Complex Cognitive Tasks (2012) · cites this paper as Geary 2008
In the citing paper
“Van Gog et al. argued, based on Geary's (2008) biologically primary knowledge concept, that humans have evolved the ability to acquire certain types of knowledge effortlessly.”
From An Evolutionary Upgrade of Cognitive Load Theory: Using the Human Motor System and Collaboration to Support the Learning of Complex Cognitive Tasks (2012) · cites this paper as Geary 2008
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_446 · Cited by 6,172
Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design: 20 Years Later
Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. (2019) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5 · Cited by 2,337
“Biologically primary knowledge is modular with little relation between the cognitive processes associated with one skill and another (Geary 2008, 2012).”
BackgroundImplications of Cognitive Load Theory for Multimedia Learning
PAAS, F. G. W. C., & Sweller, J. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139547369.004 · Cited by 923
Working Memory Underpins Cognitive Development, Learning, and Education
Cowan, N. (2013) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y · Cited by 1,048
Skulmowski, A., & Xu, K. M. (2022) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-021-09624-7 · Cited by 678
Metadata
- Authors
- GEARY, D. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Missouri (US)
- Corresponding author
- GEARY, DAVID C.
- ORCID
- GEARY, DAVID C.
- Venue
- Educational Psychologist
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2008-10-23
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 179-195
- ISSN
- 0046-1520 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-6985
- OpenAlex
- W2098051169
- Cited by
- 324
- References
- 169
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 13.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Educational Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Psychology of Development and Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Evolution and Science Education
- Keywords
- motivational biases, academic motivation, children's learning, reading acquisition, cultural evolution, evolution and culture
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