Chapter 4

Question 1

What is Hull’s theory?

Answer 1

When the stimulus conditions are right, the response is made. (You just do it)

Question 2

What is Thorndike’s theory?

Answer 2

Law of effect and law of exercise. Thorndike chose the law of effect, but both turned out to be important.

Question 3

What is the Law of effect?

Answer 3

Reinforcement is needed to strengthen bonds

Question 4

What is law of exercise?

Answer 4

That mere repetition of behavior is enough (Hebbian Learning)

Question 5

What is Tolman’s theory?

Answer 5

Latent learning, you only turn learning into performance when there is a goal.

Question 6

What are some relevant brain structures?

Answer 6

The basal ganglia
The hippocampal and prefrontal regions
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

Question 7

What does the basal ganglia do?

Answer 7

Responsible for acquisition and application of procedures in the form of reinforcement learning.

Question 8

What does the hippocampal and prefrontal regions do?

Answer 8

Responsible for storage and retrieval of declarative knowledge

Question 9

What does the anterior cingulate cortex do?

Answer 9

Responsible for cognitive control in the selection of appropriate behavior?

Question 10

What are the three phases of skill acquisition?

Answer 10

Cognitive
Associative
Autonomous

Question 11

What is the cognitive phase?

Answer 11

The learner computes based on existing facts, such as counting. In ACT-R this is based on the Declarative memory.

Question 12

What is instance-based learning?

Answer 12

The problem and answer are learned by repeated computing (exposure). This takes the learner from the cognitive phase to the associative phase. Declarative memory

Question 13

What is the associative phase?

Answer 13

The learner retrieves the problem and its answer from the fact in the declarative memory. The reaction time is reduced.

Question 14

What is the step from associative phase to autonomous phase?

Answer 14

Utility learning. By more exposure you learn the skill in the form of utility learning. (In ACT-R it is also production compilation)

Question 15

What is the Autonomous phase?

Answer 15

The skill is in the procedural memory, meaning the problem can happen “unconsciously” and in a reflex-like matter. The Decalrative memory is not used anymore and the reaction time is reduced a lot.

Question 16

What is the memory activation in the cognitive phase?

Answer 16

The memory activation is related to retrieving count facts (5+4=9, 9+3=12)

Question 17

What is the memory activation in the associative phase?

Answer 17

The memory activation related to the answer directly (5$3=12)

Question 18

What is the memory activation in the autonomous phase?

Answer 18

no memory activation

Question 19

What is the difference between Instance-based learning and Utility learning on the symbolic level?

Answer 19

Instance-based learning: new chunks through vision, imaginal
Utility learning: new production rules through production compilation

Question 20

What is the difference between Instance-based learning and Utility learning on the subsymbolic level?

Answer 20

Instance-based learning: through activation, likelihood and speed of retrieval
Utility learning: through utility, likelihood of usage

Question 21

What is the activation for instance-based learning affected by?

Answer 21

prior usage, current context and noise

Question 22

What is the utility for utility learning affected by?

Answer 22

prior utility, reward, time to reward and noise

Question 23

What is utility learning based on?

Answer 23

The expected reward of using a rule, discounted by the time until that reward. The highest utility has then the highest probability to be selected.

Question 24

How is utility learned?

Answer 24

By reinforcement learning.

Question 25

What is the utility learning equation?

Answer 25

See slides

Question 26

What is the past tense debate?

Answer 26

It is a debate of different theories of how children learn the past tense of words.

Question 27

How do children learn the English past tense with age?

Answer 27

Stage 1: talk - talked, bring - brought
Stage 2: talk - talked, bring - bringed
Stage 3: talk - talked, bring - brought

Question 28

Why is there a U-shape?

Answer 28

This is because children learn the rule and then unlearn it and then learn the rule again

Question 29

What are the three theories proposed?

Answer 29

Symbolic theory
Connectionist Theory
Hybrid in ACT-R

Question 30

What is the Symbolic theory?

Answer 30

Regular verbs are represented by a rule and irregular verbs are memorized
The U-shape coincides with the learning of the regular rule.
Overgeneralization must be the result of rule learning because it cannot be from experience

Question 31

What are some problems with Symbolic theory?

Answer 31

How is the rule discovered?
Does not explain wrong overregularization
(bring-brang)

Question 32

What is the Connectionist Theory?

Answer 32

All knowledge is represented in a neural network
U-Shape due to growth in vocabulary, decreasing activation threshold of other regular forms,
there are more forms ending with “ed” than irregular endings

Question 33

What are some problems with the Connectionist theory?

Answer 33

Only works when regular verbs are a majority
Relies on a sudden increase in vocabulary
Produces too many types of erros
Children learn the past tense without feedback

Question 34

What is production compilation?

Answer 34

Two rules that fire in sequence are combined into one new rule

Question 35

What is the Hybrid in ACT-R theory?

Answer 35

Uses production compilation create 2 rules:
1. Add “-ed” to stem rule
2. Production rule for each irregular verb

Question 36

How does the Hyrbid model explain the U-shape?

Answer 36

The start no production compilation, so retrieval is based on memory. High accuracy till the first production rule is compiled (add -ed stem). Till production rule compiles the second rule, then the accuracy increases again.