Research

McDowell’s Lab

Research

Text Box: Our evolutionary theory is an instance of complexity theory. From this perspective, relatively simple low‑level rules generate higher level outcomes that are not specified by the rules and cannot be predicted from them. These outcomes are often said to be emergent properties of the rules. Cellular automata, genetic algorithms, and some artificial neural networks generate emergent outcomes. In our theory, a genetic algorithm that implements simple rules of selection, reproduction, and mutation, produces behavior that conforms to all the empirically valid equations of matching theory, including parameter estimates that are similar to those typically found in data from live organisms. In other words, the family of matching equations is an emergent property of the evolutionary theory. Is Behavior a complex system and, if yes, why does it matter?

The Evolutionary Theory

Future Directions

Complexity & Behavior

Emory University, Department of Psychology, Atlanta, GA, USA

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