Lars Og Pål

What role does our evolutionary history play in how we learn? Is it even useful to look and try to determine what’s «natural» for us humans? In what way does our biology determine what is good for us? Did evolution «design» us to be happy? What is evolutionary mismatch? What sort of skills require explicit instruction? How do we balance this need with the developmental need for autonomy and independence, which kids in our current culture get less of than before? Why is it developmentally useful to be cognitively immature, and why are young kids natural optimists?  These and many other questions are discussed in this episode, where Lars talks to David F. Bjorklund about his work on human development and evolutionary psychology. We also discuss some of the work of other researchers in the field, like David C. Geary and his distinction between biologically primary and secondary abilities, as well as some of Peter Gray’s positions on learning, autonomy, age mixing and mental health.  David F. Bjorklund is a profe