Publication Type

Conference Proceeding

Journal Name

Behavioural Processes

Publication Date

5-31-2005

Abstract

Simple heuristics may help explain how even a spider, despite its minute brain, can be disturbingly intelligent. Hutchinson and Gigerenzer suggest that the generalist-specialist distinction (or more accurately the predictability-unpredictability distinction) may be related to a species' level of reliance on simple heuristics, and spider behaviour may present some especially instructive opportunities for investigating these ideas. Daniel Dennett's distinction between Darwinian, Skinnerian and Popperian animals might be useful for discerning the different contexts in which optimality considerations and individual decision making are relevant. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Portia, Predictability-unpredictability distinction, Salticidae, Spider

PubMed ID

15845294

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