The Evolution of Innovativeness

The evolutionary origin of innovative capacities remains contentious. For some authors, innovativeness is an adaptive specialization related to particular modular cognitive processes. However, this hypothesis lacks a plausible evolutionary mechanism. In this chapter, I discuss the alternative that innovativeness is not the direct target of selection, at least in the early stages of evolution, but a by-product of a combination of traits that have evolved for other functions yet predispose individuals to solve problems by adopting novel behaviors (i.e. an exaptation). Evidence is accumulating that (1) the innovation process depends on a combination of adaptations, (2) these adaptations can evolve together in slow-lived species due to shared mechanisms and correlated selection, and (3) enhanced innovativeness can be more directly selected in those slow-lived animals that actively expose themselves to novel problems. The exaptation hypothesis is thus not only more consistent with current evolutionary theory but fits well with empirical evidence.