Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T06:06:17.788Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cognitive exploration drives engagement and re-engagement with imaginary worlds, but not spatial exploration as predicted by evolutionary theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2022

Rebecca Dunk  and
Raymond A. Mar Open the ORCID record for Raymond A. Mar [Opens in a new window]
Rebecca Dunk
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada [email protected]; https://rebeccajoydunk.wixsite.com/researcher [email protected]; yorku.ca/mar/
Raymond A. Mar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada [email protected]; https://rebeccajoydunk.wixsite.com/researcher [email protected]; yorku.ca/mar/
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The empirical evidence for exploration underlying the appeal of imaginary worlds is mostly absent or contradictory. Openness, and the cognitive exploration it represents, provides a better account than the overall drive to explore predicted by evolutionary theory. Furthermore, exploration cannot explain why imaginary worlds foster frequent re-engagement.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e281
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aluja, A., García, Ó., & García Luís, F. (2003). Relationships among extraversion, openness to experience, and sensation seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(3), 671–680. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00244-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
André, J.-B., Baumard, N., & Boyer, P. (2020). The mystery of symbolic culture: What fitness costs? What fitness benefits? Open Science Framework. https://osf.io/kdh7t/download?format=pdf.Google Scholar
Besson, A. (2021). Les pouvoirs de l'enchantement: Usages Politiques de la fantasy et de la science-fiction. Vendémiaire.Google Scholar
Boon-Falleur, M., Baumard, N., & André, J.-B. (2020). Risk-seeking or impatient? Disentangling variance and time in hazardous behaviors. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/phtm8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeYoung, C. G. (2013). The neuromodulator of exploration: A unifying theory of the role of dopamine in personality. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00762CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeYoung, C. G., Peterson, J. B., & Higgins, D. M. (2002). Higher-order factors of the big five predict conformity: Are there neuroses of health? Personality and Individual Differences, 33(4), 533–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(01)00171-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubourg, E., Thouzeau, V., de Dampierre, C., & Baumard, N. (2021). Exploratory preferences explain the cultural success of imaginary worlds in modern societies. PsyArXiv, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/d9uqs.Google Scholar
Fischer, R., Lee, A., & Verzijden, M. N. (2018). Dopamine genes are linked to extraversion and neuroticism personality traits, but only in demanding climates. Scientific Reports, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-18784-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodreads, . (n.d.). J.R.R. Tolkien – Lord of the Rings: How many times have you read The Lord of the Rings? Goodreads. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2047249-how-many-times-have-you-read-the-lord-of-the-rings.Google Scholar
Hills, T., & Stroup, W. (2004). Cognitive exploration and search behavior in the development of endogenous representations. In Annual Meeting for the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.Google Scholar
Hirsh, J. B., DeYoung, C. G., & Peterson, J. B. (2009). Metatraits of the big five differentially predict engagement and restraint of behavior. Journal of Personality, 77(4), 1085–1102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00575.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirsh, J. B., Mar, R. A., & Peterson, J. B. (2012). Psychological entropy: A framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety. Psychological Review, 119(2), 304–320. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026767CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mell, H., Baumard, N., & André, J.-B. (2019). Time is money. Waiting costs explain why selection favors steeper time discounting in deprived environments. EcoEvoRxiv. https://doi.org/10.32942/osf.io/7d56s.Google Scholar
Ministero, L. M., Green, M. C., Gabriel, S., & Valenti, J. (2021). Back where I belong: Rereading as a risk-free pathway to social connection. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 16(1), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000375.suppGoogle Scholar
Olson, K. R. (2005). Engagement and self-control: Superordinate dimensions of big five traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(7), 1689–1700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.11.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robbins, T. W., & Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). The neuropsychopharmacology of fronto-executive function: Monoaminergic modulation. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 32(1), 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.051508.135535CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, C. A., & Levy, S. J. (2012). The temporal and focal dynamics of volitional reconsumption: A phenomenological investigation of repeated hedonic experiences. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(2), 341–359. https://doi.org/10.1086/662996Google Scholar
Singh, M. (2019). The evolutionary and psychological foundations of universal narrative structure. Open Science Framework. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/p8q7a.Google Scholar
Wallis, A. (2020). Calling all “star wars” fans: Showcase airing 9-Movie Marathon over Easter Weekend – National. Global News. Retrieved September 21, 2021, from https://globalnews.ca/news/6798791/showcase-star-wars-marathon-easter/.Google Scholar