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The “mechanism” of human cognitive variation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2008

Matthew K. Belmonte
Affiliation:
Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14853-4401. belmonte@mit.eduhttp://www.mit.edu/~belmonte/

Abstract

The theory of psychosis and autism as diametrical disorders offers a tractable and testable view of normal and abnormal human cognitive variation as a function of opposing traits grouped by their selection for maternal and paternal reproductive fitness. The theory could be usefully rooted and developed with reference to the lower-level perceptual and attentional phenomena from which social cognitive modules are developmentally refined.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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