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Experiential effects on mirror systems and social learning: Implications for social intelligence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

Simon M. Reader
Simon M. Reader*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada. simon.reader@mcgill.ca http://biology.mcgill.ca/faculty/reader/ Department of Biology and Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Abstract

Investigations of biases and experiential effects on social learning, social information use, and mirror systems can usefully inform one another. Unconstrained learning is predicted to shape mirror systems when the optimal response to an observed act varies, but constraints may emerge when immediate error-free responses are required and evolutionary or developmental history reliably predicts the optimal response. Given the power of associative learning, such constraints may be rare.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 217 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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