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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/
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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
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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