Choice, Selection, and Learning

The chapter examines the relationship among processes of choice, selection, and learning. The notions of choice and selection differ with respect to the degree of intentionality that they suggest. However, if “choice” is viewed as the identification of preferential action over some set of latent alternatives, then processes of choice and selection can be seen as differing primarily by their level of analysis. Another critical distinction among these processes is their temporal orientation. In the case of rational choice, selection is driven by a projection of the future consequences of alternative actions. In contrast, evolutionary selection processes are driven by the contemporaneous relative fitness of alternatives. A third perspective is that of learning. Here, the preferential attraction to different alternatives is backward looking, with actions that are perceived to have been associated with more successful outcomes more likely to be enacted than those associated with less successful outcomes.