In a process known as the Baldwin Effect, developmental plasticity, such as learning, has been argued to accelerate the biological evolution of high-fitness traits, including language and complex intelligence. Here we investigate the evolutionary consequences of developmental plasticity by asking which aspects of a plastic trait are the focus of genetic change. The aspects we consider are: (i) dependencies between elements of a trait, (ii) the importance of each element to fitness, and (iii) the difficulty of acquiring each element through plasticity. We also explore (iv) how cultural inheritance changes the relationship between plasticity and genetic change. We find that evolution by natural selection preferentially fixes elements that are depended upon by others, important to fitness, or difficult to acquire through plasticity, but that cultural inheritance can suppress and even reverse genetic change. We replicate some of these effects in experimental evolutionary simulations with human learners. We conclude that what the Baldwin Effect affects depends upon the mechanism of plasticity, which for behavior and cognition includes the psychology of learning.

中文翻译：

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鲍德温效应的影响取决于可塑性的性质。

在被称为鲍德温效应的过程中，诸如学习之类的发育可塑性被认为可以促进包括语言和复杂智力在内的高适应性特征的生物学进化。在这里，我们通过询问塑性特征的哪些方面是遗传变化的重点来研究发育可塑性的进化后果。我们考虑的方面是：（i）性格要素之间的依赖性，（ii）每个要素对适应性的重要性，以及（iii）通过可塑性获取每个要素的难度。我们还将探讨（iv）文化遗产如何改变可塑性与遗传变化之间的关系。我们发现，自然选择的进化优先固定了其他人依赖的，对健身很重要或难以通过可塑性获得的元素，但是文化遗产可以抑制甚至逆转基因变化。我们在人类学习者的实验进化模拟中复制了其中一些效应。我们得出的结论是，鲍德温效应的影响取决于可塑性的机制，可塑性的行为和认知包括学习心理学。