Baldwin effect

the influence on intraspecies evolution of behavior change and learning. An individual member of the species acquires a new ability that enables better adaptation to the environment and hence increases probability of survival; the propensity for acquiring this characteristic is conferred in turn on descendants of that species member until a genetic variation occurs and the characteristic itself becomes hereditary. The Baldwin effect was originally called organic selection. [described in 1896 by James Mark Baldwin]

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

Hering–Breuer reflex

a nervous mechanism involved in normal breathing, with stimuli from sensory endings in lung tissue limiting inspiration and expiration. [Ewald Hering; Josef Breuer]