COGS 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Hawaiian Honeycreeper, Ecological Niche, Earth Science
30 Oct 2017
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Document Summary
Anthropology is the study of human origin, social and cultural influence on human upbringing and behaviour, and the evolution of homo sapiens. Evolution and social and cultural upbringings impact human cognition and behaviour. It draws and builds upon knowledge from the social science, humanities and the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and astronomy) We will discuss the following two aspects of study on cognition. Comparative cognition - similarities and difference in cognitive abilities between different animal species. Evolution of the mind - the selection forces that may have given rise to our current mental structures. Many of our cognitive abilities are innate, supports the nativist position in philosophy that we are born with knowledge. Culture plays a big role in shaping our cognitive abilities. Behavioural economics - how evolution may have shaped the way we make decisions involving money. Each species has adapted to its ecological niche.
