ABSTRACT
By “search,” we typically mean the delineation and choice of alternatives toward some ultimate goal. Search invariably entails a series of responses; these may range from the repetition of simple motor sequences to deliberate acts of mental planning. As the chapters in this volume illustrate, the analyses of human approaches to search involve memory, problem solving, and other cognitive capacities. Because search is so basic to these topics, it behooves us to consider some natural manifestations of search behavior. Beyond its metaphorical usage (as in “memory search,” or “search of a problem space”), search, and associated processes of spatial orientation, play a fundamental role in the life of any organism.
