Editing Mind (section)

== Development ==
=== Evolution ===
The mind has a long evolutionary history starting with the [[Evolution of nervous systems|development of the nervous system]] and [[Evolution of the brain|the brain]].<ref>{{harvnb|Roth|2013|p=3}}</ref> While it is generally accepted today that mind is not exclusive to humans and various non-human animals have some form of mind, there is no consensus at which point exactly the mind emerged.<ref>{{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|pp=3–4}}</ref> The evolution of mind is usually explained in terms of [[natural selection]]: [[genetic variation]]s responsible for new or improved mental capacities, such as better perception or social dispositions, have an increased chance of being passed on to future generations if they are beneficial to [[Fitness (biology)|survival and reproduction]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|pp=4–5}} | {{harvnb|Roth|2013|pp=3–4}} }}</ref>

Minimal forms of information processing are already found in the earliest forms of life 4 to 3.5 billion years ago, like the abilities of [[bacteria]] and [[Eukaryote|eukaryotic]] [[unicellular organism]]s to sense the environment, store this information, and react to it. [[Nerve cell]]s emerged with the development of [[multicellular organisms]] more than 600 million years ago as a way to process and transmit information. About 600 to 550 million years ago, an evolutionary bifurcation happened into radially symmetric organisms{{efn|They include [[cnidarians]] and [[ctenophorans]].<ref>{{harvnb|Roth|2013|pp=265–266}}</ref>}} with ring-shaped nervous systems or a [[nerve net]], like [[jellyfish]], and organisms with [[bilaterians|bilaterally symmetric bodies]], whose nervous systems tend to be more centralized. About 540 million years ago, vertebrates evolved within the group of bilaterally organized organisms. Vertebrates, like birds and [[mammal]]s, have a [[central nervous system]] including a complex brain with specialized functions. Invertebrates, like [[clam]]s and [[insect]]s, typically either have no or relatively simple brains.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Roth|2013|pp=265–266}} | {{harvnb|Erulkar|Lentz|2024|loc=§ Evolution and Development of the Nervous System}} | {{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|pp=6–7}} }}</ref> In the course of evolution, the brains of vertebrates tended to grow and the specialization of different brain areas tended to increase. These developments are closely related to changes in limb structures, sense organs, and living conditions with a close correspondence between the size of a brain area and the importance of its function to the organism.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Erulkar|Lentz|2024|loc=§ Evolution and Development of the Nervous System}} | {{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|p=13}} }}</ref> An important step in the evolution of mammals about 200 million years ago was the development of the [[neocortex]], which is responsible for many higher-order brain functions.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Aboitiz|Montiel|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=N4HB0Sw-4u8C&pg=PA7 7]}} | {{harvnb|Aboitiz|Montiel|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NZ19UiDPosEC&pg=PA14 14–15]}} | {{harvnb|Finlay|Innocenti|Scheich|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9BsGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 3]}} | {{harvnb|Jerison|2013|pp=7–8}} }}</ref>

The size of the brain relative to the body further increased with the development of [[primate]]s, like monkeys, about 65 million years ago and later with the emergence of the first [[hominin]]s about 7–5 million years ago.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|pp=6–8}} | {{harvnb|Reyes|Sherwood|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=I1kqBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 12]}} | {{harvnb|Wragg-Sykes|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tbbjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 183]}} }}</ref> [[Anatomically modern humans]] appeared about 300,000 to 200,000 years ago.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|p=9}} | {{harvnb|Wragg-Sykes|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tbbjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA183 183]}} | {{harvnb|Fagan|Durrani|2021|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NNFKEAAAQBAJ 3. Enter Homo Sapiens (c. 300,000 Years Ago and Later)]}} }}</ref> Various theories of the evolutionary processes responsible for [[Evolution of human intelligence|human intelligence]] have been proposed. The social intelligence hypothesis says that the evolution of the human mind was triggered by the increased importance of social life and its emphasis on mental abilities associated with [[empathy]], [[knowledge transfer]], and [[meta-cognition]]. According to the ecological intelligence hypothesis, the main value of the increased mental capacities comes from their advantages in dealing with a complex physical environment through processes like behavioral flexibility, learning, and tool use. Other suggested mechanisms include the effects of a changed diet with energy-rich food and general benefits from an increased speed and efficiency of information processing.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Roth|2013|p=3}} | {{harvnb|Hatfield|2013|pp=36–43}} | {{harvnb|Mandalaywala|Fleener|Maestripieri|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ylzEBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 28–29]}} }}</ref> Some models propose that another major cognitive shift occurred possibly 50,000 to 40,000 years ago. Called ''[[behavioral modernity]]'', it is associated with the emergence of new or improved mental abilities, such as technological innovativeness, abstract thinking, the use of [[symbol]]s, planning, and social coordination.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Majkić|2024|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4dPrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 97–99]}} | {{harvnb|Sterelny|2011|pp=809, 811–812}} }}</ref>

=== Individual ===
Besides the development of mind in general in the course of history, [[Developmental psychology|individual human minds also develop]] in the course of their lifetime. Some of the individual changes vary from person to person as a form of learning from experience, like forming specific memories or acquiring particular behavioral patterns. Others are more universal developments as psychological stages that all or most humans go through as they pass through [[early childhood]], [[adolescence]], [[adulthood]], and [[old age]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=171, 202, 342–343, 384}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=171–172, 184}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=131–132, 240}} }}</ref> These developments cover various areas, including intellectual, sensorimotor, linguistic, emotional, social, and moral developments.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Yeomans|Arnold|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mDL1eR1VrcIC&pg=PT31 31]}} | {{harvnb|Oakley|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iSOCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1]}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=131–132}} }}</ref> Some factors affect the development of mind before birth, such as nutrition, maternal stress, and exposure to harmful substances like alcohol during pregnancy.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Coall|Callan|Dickins|Chisholm|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg3QBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 57–58]}} | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=345–346}} | {{harvnb|Abel|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=j77OEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 231–232]}} }}</ref>

Early childhood is marked by rapid developments as [[infant]]s learn voluntary control over their bodies and interact with their environment on a basic level. Typically after about one year, this covers abilities like walking, recognizing familiar faces, and producing individual words.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=342–344, 347–348, 384}} | {{harvnb|Packer|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=V5NBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 7–8]}} | {{harvnb|Smitsman|Corbetta|2011|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8WrqZaqtzgUC&pg=PA169 Action in Infancy – Perspectives, Concepts, and Challenges]}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=131–132}} }}</ref> On the emotional and social levels, they develop attachments with their primary caretakers and express emotions ranging from joy and surprise to fear and anger.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Packer|2017|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=V5NBDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 7–8]}} | {{harvnb|Freeman|1975|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TFjf4mUHqv4C&pg=PA114 114]}} | {{harvnb|Driscoll|Easterbrooks|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cOPNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA256 256]}} | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|p=384}} }}</ref> An [[Piaget's theory of cognitive development|influential theory]] by [[Jean Piaget]] divides the cognitive development of children into four stages. The sensorimotor stage from birth until two years is concerned with sensory impressions and motor activities while learning that objects remain in existence even when not observed. In the preoperational stage until seven years, children learn to interpret and use symbols in an intuitive manner. They start employing [[logical reasoning]] to physical objects in the concrete operational stage until eleven years and extend this capacity in the following formal operational stage to [[Abstract and concrete|abstract ideas]], [[Probability|probabilities]], and possibilities.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=349–350}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=566–572}} | {{harvnb|Khatoon|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ha1KBZm9CXQC&pg=PA308 308–311]}} }}</ref> Other important processes shaping the mind in this period are [[socialization]] and [[enculturation]], at first through primary caretakers and later through peers and the schooling system.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|p=384}} | {{harvnb|Harrell|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lQDFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA478 478–479]}} }}</ref>

Psychological transformations during adolescence are provoked by physiological developments and by being confronted with a different social situation in the form of new expectations from others. An important factor in this period is change to the [[self-concept]], which can take the form of an [[Existential crisis#Teenage|identity crisis]]. This process typically involves developing individuality and independence from parents while at the same time seeking closeness and conformity with friends and peers. Further developments in this period include improvements to the reasoning ability and the formation of a principled moral viewpoint.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|pp=384–385}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=619–620, 625–626}} | {{harvnb|Berman|Weems|Stickle|2006|pp=285–292}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=124–125, 131–132}} }}</ref>

The mind also changes during adulthood but in a less rapid and pronounced manner. Reasoning and problem-solving skills improve during early and middle adulthood. Some people experience the mid-life transition as a [[midlife crisis]] involving an inner conflict about [[personal identity]], associated with anxiety, a sense of a lack of accomplishments in life, or an awareness of mortality. Intellectual faculties tend to decline in later adulthood, specifically the ability to learn complex unfamiliar tasks and later also the ability to remember. At the same time, people tend to become more inward-looking and cautious.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Bernstein|Nash|2006|p=385}} | {{harvnb|Gross|2020|pp=633–638, 664}} | {{harvnb|Nairne|2011|pp=124–125, 131–132}} }}</ref>