Chapter 13: Conclusion

Question 1

What type of questions about cognitive processes does philosophical approach ask?

Answer 1

It asks questions concerning abstract levels of description, beyond even the computational level. These might include metaphysical and ethical inquiries.

Question 2

In what way does the psychological approach explain cognitive processes?

Answer 2

Explains cognitive processes according to developmental, learning, or environmental influences.

Question 3

At what level and how does the cognitive approach explain cognitive processes?

Answer 3

The cognitive approach lends itself best to explanations at the algorithmic level. Methodology plays a key role in the cognitive approach to explaining cognitive processes.

Question 4

What is the role of the neuroscience approach in explaining cognitive processes?

Answer 4

The neuroscience approach maps out completely the anatomy and physiology of the neural systems that underlie the cognitive process

Question 5

What is the role of the network approach in explaining cognitive processes?

Answer 5

Building network architectures that reproduce various aspects of their functions.

Question 6

How does the evolutionary approach explain cognitive processes?

Answer 6

It explains cognitive processes according to selection factors at the species level.

Question 7

What is the role of the linguistic approach in explaining cognitive processes?

Answer 7

It examines the role of cognitive processes in language comprehension and production

Question 8

What is the role of artificial intelligence in explaining cognitive processes?

Answer 8

Artificial intelligence researchers could generate algorithms of cognitive processes designed to simulate human or animal capability.

Question 9

What is the role of robotics in explaining cognitive processes?

Answer 9

A robotics investigation of a particular cognitive process would be concerned with how this process aids in the execution of a complex, real-world task.

Question 10

Distributed artificial intelligence

Answer 10

A field in artificial intelligence in which computing agents are linked together and communicate with one another cooperatively. If the agents have specialized computing strategies, then they can solve problems in tandem that neither one of them could solve alone.

Question 11

Agents

Answer 11

A component module of a cognitive system that is endowed with the ability to perform some specific task.

Question 12

Shared representations

Answer 12

Representations that can be processed by more than one user. Language is a common medium of shared representations.

Question 13

Anthropology

Answer 13

The discipline that studies cultural differences by investigating when and where humans first appeared on the earth and why they have varied in some physical traits. Anthropology is also interested in how and why societies vary in their customary ideas and practices.

Question 14

Representational power

Answer 14

How well does the theory account for the wide variety of cognitive representations? (cmp. Concrete vs. Abstract objects)

Question 15

Computational power

Answer 15

How well can the processes specified by the theory under consideration perform a given computation? Is the solution fast and flexible?

Question 16

Psychological plausibility

Answer 16

How likely is it that the mental processes specified by the theory are actually carried out? (experimental techniques to test)

Question 17

Neurological plausibility

Answer 17

How are the mental processes physically carried out in a neural substrate? Can the theory be implemented biologically?

Question 18

Practical applicability

Answer 18

How can the knowledge gained from the theory be put to use in the real world? (e.g., executive function theory to combat age-related cognitive decline)

Question 19

Distributed cognition

Answer 19

The view that cognition can be considered as information processing both within and between individuals.

Question 20

Embodiment

Answer 20

The idea that cognitive processes exist within and interact with the external environment through sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Question 21

Ecological perception

Answer 21

The theory that perception is immediate and direct, not requiring representation or computation

Question 22

Multiagent system

Answer 22

A collection of specialized interacting agents

Question 23

What are the main issues in cognitive science?

Answer 23

1. Lack of a single unified theory
2. Cognitive science gives preference to universal characteristics of information processing systems over individual differences, even though an understanding of the latter is both useful and worthwhile.

Question 24

What are the differences between emotions and thoughts and how can we address them?

Answer 24

1. Emotional responses involve the body and not just the brain. Introducing models that allow for bodily feedback during the processing of emotion could address this issue.
2. Many emotions rely on particular neurotransmitters while artificial neural network models assume that all neurons act in the same way. The solution could be giving different operating characteristics to subsets of nodes corresponding to different transmitters.