Individual learning from environmental cues does not always yield the adaptive behavior.

Evidence

Next, all individuals try to learn the best behavior for the current environment. Each individual acquires information from the environment that allows her to infer which trait is currently adaptive. We refer to this process as individual learning. Because environmental information is imperfect, individual learning does not always produce the correct behavior for the current environment. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 35

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the model’s core term ‘individual learning’ as inference from imperfect environmental information.
• XREF: connects to: The leading explanation for human adaptability is individual improvisational intelligence — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 71; Passive observation of locals transfers little skill without active guided practice — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 121; Adaptive problems reduce to reading imperfect environmental cues of two kinds. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 31 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Learning and adaptive preference shifts under a policy can themselves function as entrenchment #complicates (0.82) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 56
• Conformism stays adaptive under rapid change though heavy social learning does not #expands (0.80)
• Natural selection built cultural learning that can overwrite innate preferences #qualifies (0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 365
• Behavioral departures from norms can be adaptive responses #expands (0.74) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 443
• Conformist bias evolution requires less environmental stability than social learning evolution itself. #expands (0.72) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 75