Classic avoidance learning leads to a dilemma: if an animal always avoids a cue that lead to a negative outcome, it will never learn anything new about the cue and outcome. A new study suggests that a protected childhood period helps resolve that dilemma: children actually prefer to explore aversive cues but only do so if a parent is present.
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Gopnik, A. Life history, love and learning. Nat Hum Behav 3, 1041–1042 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0673-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0673-8
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