ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Edelman's theoretical proposals and focuses on the fact that his theory of neuronal group's selection is primarily a theory that can account for the emergence of cognitive functions from sensorimotor integration. Evolutionary psychology is the application of knowledge and theories of psychology to the understanding of human evolution. Initially developed in 1936, Piaget's theory has long prevailed as the exclusive model of children's cognitive development. The matter of the onset of cognitive development is not simple. In the case of Piaget's psychogenic approach, or Lecuyer and Durand's neo-constructivist point of view, understanding the origins of cognition requires a historical approach focused on how individual development is built by experience and learning. The dissociation between competence and performance has resulted in the nativist research program centered on the identification of increasingly early skills, up to the point that they could not be explained by any other conventional developmental theory than the one proposed by the nativist approach.
