Work

The Cognitive Foundations of Teaching

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The propensity to teach is vital to human cultural evolution and to our ecological dominance of the planet, but its cognitive foundations remain poorly understood. Traditional explanations argue that teaching hinges on particular cognitive pre-requisites, such as Theory of Mind. However, such explanations conflate the function of teaching-promoting learning in others-with how it is achieved, and overlook the role of comparatively simple mechanisms like the heuristics known to underpin teaching in some non-human animals. We propose a novel framework integrating evolutionary and psychological perspectives to understand the diversity of teaching by focusing on the cognitive requirements for flexibility and sensitivity to pupil needs. Synthesizing theory and evidence across disciplines, our framework evaluates the contributions of different mechanisms in determining who and what is taught, and how teaching is achieved. This allows us to understand the cognitive foundations of teaching across different species, in diverse human societies, and neurodiverse populations.

Source: Evolutionary Anthropology Issues News and Reviews

DOI: 10.1002/evan.70032

Authors: Matthew Lomas, Lamprini Psychogiou, Christine Caldwell, Francesca Happé, Alex Thornton

Institutions: University of Exeter, University of Stirling, King's College London

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,000