| 1. |
- Balkenius, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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The Missing Link Between Memory and Reinforcement Learning
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reinforcement learning systems usually assume that a value function is defined over all states (or state-action pairs) that can immediately give the value of a particular state or action. These values are used by a selection mechanism to decide which action to take. In contrast, when humans and animals make decisions, they collect evidence for different alternatives over time and take action only when sufficient evidence has been accumulated. We have previously developed a model of memory processing that includes semantic, episodic and working memory in a comprehensive architecture. Here, we describe how this memory mechanism can support decision making when the alternatives cannot be evaluated based on immediate sensory information alone. Instead we first imagine, and then evaluate a possible future that will result from choosing one of the alternatives. Here we present an extended model that can be used as a model for decision making that depends on accumulating evidence over time, whether that information comes from the sequential attention to different sensory properties or from internal simulation of the consequences of making a particular choice. We show how the new model explains both simple immediate choices, choices that depend on multiple sensory factors and complicated selections between alternatives that require forward looking simulations based on episodic and semantic memory structures. In this framework, vicarious trial and error is explained as an internal simulation that accumulates evidence for a particular choice. We argue that a system like this forms the “missing link” between more traditional ideas of semantic and episodic memory, and the associative nature of reinforcement learning.
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| 2. |
- Brala-Vukanovi, Maja, et al.
(författare)
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SLICNOST ISKAZANA ZAMJENICAMA I ZAMJENICKIM PRILOZIMA U HRVATSKOME JEZIKU : KVALITATIVNE, KVANTITATIVNE I INE ODREDNICE
- 2021
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Ingår i: Fluminensia. - 0353-4642. ; 33:2, s. 387-416
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate a particular subclass of semantic features associated with demonstratives of quantity and quality, and the respective interrogatives. We explore these lexical elements as they behave linguistically in simile constructions in Croatian. We show that the semantic features that can be focused on in similes are the same as the references of the full system of Croatian demonstratives. However, the possibility to focus on a particular semantic feature by a specific choice of demonstrative or interrogative in simile constructions is being replaced in usage by the generic simile word 'kao'.
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| 3. |
- Douven, Igor, et al.
(författare)
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Conceptual spaces and the strength of similarity-based arguments
- 2022
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Ingår i: Cognition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0010-0277. ; 218
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Central to the conceptual spaces framework is the thought that concepts can be studied mathematically, by geometrical and topological means. Various applications of the framework have already been subjected to empirical testing, mostly with excellent results, demonstrating the framework's usefulness. So far untested is the suggestion that conceptual spaces may help explain certain inferences people are willing to make. The experiment reported in this paper focused on similarity-based arguments, testing the hypothesis that the strength of such arguments can be predicted from the structure of the conceptual space in which the items being reasoned about are represented. A secondary aim of the experiment concerned a recent inferentialist semantics for indicative conditionals, according to which the truth of a conditional requires the presence of a sufficiently strong inferential connection between its antecedent and consequent. To the extent that the strength of similarity-based inferences can be predicted from the geometry and topology of the relevant conceptual space, such spaces should help predict truth ratings of conditionals embodying a similarity-based inferential link. The results supported both hypotheses.
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| 4. |
- Douven, Igor, et al.
(författare)
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Similarity-based reasoning in conceptual spaces
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - 1664-1078. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whereas the validity of deductive inferences can be characterized in terms of their logical form, this is not true for all inferences that appear pre-theoretically valid. Nonetheless, philosophers have argued that at least some of those inferences—sometimes called “similarity-based inferences” —can be given a formal treatment with the help of similarity spaces, which are mathematical spaces purporting to represent human similarity judgments. In these inferences, we conclude that a given property pertains to a category of items on the grounds that the same property pertains to a similar category of items. We look at a specific proposal according to which the strength of such inferences is a function of the distance, as measured in the appropriate similarity space, between the category referenced in the premise and the category referenced in the conclusion. We report the outcomes of three studies that all support the said proposal.
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| 5. |
- Ekström, Axel G., et al.
(författare)
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Motion iconicity in prosody
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Communication. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2297-900X. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evidence suggests that human non-verbal speech may be rich in iconicity. Here, we report results from two experiments aimed at testing whether perception of increasing and declining f(0) can be iconically mapped onto motion events. We presented a sample of mixed-nationality participants (N = 118) with sets of two videos, where one pictured upward movement and the other downward movement. A disyllabic non-sense word prosodically resynthesized as increasing or declining in f(0) was presented simultaneously with each video in a pair, and participants were tasked with guessing which of the two videos the word described. Results indicate that prosody is iconically associated with motion, such that motion-prosody congruent pairings were more readily selected than incongruent pairings (p < 0.033). However, the effect observed in our sample was primarily driven by selections of words with declining f(0). A follow-up experiment with native Turkish speaking participants (N = 92) tested for the effect of language-specific metaphor for auditory pitch. Results showed no significant association between prosody and motion. Limitations of the experiment, and some implications for the motor theory of speech perception, and "gestural origins" theories of language evolution, are discussed.
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| 6. |
- Gärdenfors, Peter
(författare)
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Causal reasoning and event cognition as evolutionary determinants of language structure
- 2021
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Ingår i: Entropy. - : MDPI AG. - 1099-4300. ; 23:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this article is to provide an evolutionarily grounded explanation of central aspects of the structure of language. It begins with an account of the evolution of human causal reasoning. A comparison between humans and non-human primates suggests that human causal cognition is based on reasoning about the underlying forces that are involved in events, while other primates hardly understand external forces. This is illustrated by an analysis of the causal cognition required for early hominin tool use. Second, the thinking concerning forces in causation is used to motivate a model of human event cognition. A mental representation of an event contains two vectors representing a cause as well as a result but also entities such as agents, patients, instruments and locations. The fundamental connection between event representations and language is that de-clarative sentences express events (or states). The event structure also explains why sentences are constituted of noun phrases and verb phrases. Finally, the components of the event representation show up in language, where causes and effects are expressed by verbs, agents and patients by nouns (modified by adjectives), locations by prepositions, etc. Thus, the evolution of the complexity of mental event representations also provides insight into the evolution of the structure of language.
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| 7. |
- Gärdenfors, Peter
(författare)
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Demonstration and pantomime in the evolution of teaching and communication
- 2021
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Ingår i: Language and Communication. - : Elsevier BV. - 0271-5309. ; 80, s. 71-79
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article begins with a presentation of the role of demonstration and pantomime in the evolution of teaching building on Gärdenfors and Högberg (2017). In comparison to different forms of animal communication, demonstration is voluntary, intentional, honest, and directed to one or a few individuals. Then the differences between demonstration and pantomime is analyzed. An important factor is that a pantomime can be detached, that is, can refer to entities that are not present or to other moments of time. A key section of the article concerns the extension of pantomime from its use in teaching to a more general communicative use. I present six factors – communicative sign function, degree of detachment, pragmatic form, represented action, perspective, and degree of pretence, which – following a principle of cognitive parsimony – all suggest that pantomime for teaching is evolutionarily older.
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| 8. |
- Gärdenfors, Peter
(författare)
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Event structure, force dynamics and verb semantics
- 2024
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Ingår i: Language Sciences. - 0388-0001. ; 102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article presents a cognitive model of event structure that can be used to explain several features of the semantics of verbs. The model consists of four basic components: agent, patient, force vector and result vector. Each component is described in terms of the theory of conceptual spaces. The force vector is the cause of the result vector. Unlike other event models both the cause and the effect are included in the representation of a single event. The model is used for two central topics. Firstly, to provide a force dynamic representation of causation. Secondly, to give a unified analysis of Aktionsart in terms of different forms of vectors, using force diagrams that are extensions of those used by Croft and others. It is then shown that the event model can be used to derive a variety of semantic features of verbs. In particular, I analyze manner-result complementarity, the ambiguity of the passive participle, and the role of goals (telicity).
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| 9. |
- Gärdenfors, Peter
(författare)
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Events and Causal Mappings Modeled in Conceptual Spaces
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the article is to present a model of causal relations that is based on what is known about human causal reasoning and that forms guidelines for implementations in robots. I argue for two theses concerning human cognition. The first is that human causal cognition, in contrast to that of other animals, is based on the understanding of the forces that are involved. The second thesis is that humans think about causality in terms of events. I present a two-vector model of events, developed by Gärdenfors and Warglien, which states that an event is represented in terms of two main components – the force of an action that drives the event, and the result of its application. Apart from the causal mapping, the event model contains representations of a patient, an agent, and possibly some other roles. Agents and patients are objects (animate or inanimate) that have different properties. Following my theory of conceptual spaces, they can be described as vectors of property values. At least two spaces are needed to describe an event, an action space and a result space. The result of an event is modeled as a vector representing the change of properties of the patient before and after the event. In robotics the focus has been on describing results. The proposed model also includes the causal part of events, typically described as an action. A central part of an event category is the mapping from actions to results. This mapping contains the central information about causal relations. In applications of the two-vector model, the central problem is how the event mapping can be learned in a way that is amenable to implementations in robots. Three processes are central for event cognition: causal thinking, control of action and learning by generalization. Although it is not yet clear which is the best way to model how the mappings can be learned, they should be constrained by three corresponding mathematical properties: monotonicity (related to qualitative causal thinking); continuity (plays a key role in activities of action control); and convexity (facilitates generalization and the categorization of events). I argue that Bayesian models are not suitable for these purposes, but some more geometrically oriented approach to event mappings should be used.
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| 10. |
- Gärdenfors, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of intentional teaching
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution. - Oxford : Oxford University Press.
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Only among humans is teaching intentional, socially structured, and symbolically mediated. In this chapter, evidence regarding the evolution of the mindreading and communicative capacities underlying intentional teaching is reviewed. Play, rehearsal, and apprenticeship are discussed as central to the analyses of teaching. We present a series of levels of teaching. First of all, we separate non-intentional from intentional teaching. For non-intentional teaching, we discuss facilitation and approval/disapproval and analyze examples from non-human species. We then distinguish between six levels of intentional teaching: (1) intentional approval/disapproval, (2) drawing attention, (3) demonstrating, (4) communicating concepts, (5) explaining concept relations, and (6) narrating. We hypothesize that level after level has been added during the evolution of teaching. We analyze communicative requirements for the levels, concluding that displaced communication is required for level 4 and symbolic language only for levels 5 to 6. We focus on the role of demonstration and pantomime and argue that pantomime has been instrumental in the evolution of language. We present archaeological evidence for when the different levels of teaching emerge. We argue that learning Oldowan technology requires teaching by demonstration, and that learning Acheulean hand-axe technology requires communicating concepts. It follows that several levels of intentional teaching predate homo sapiens.
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