Re-thinking stages of cognitive development: An appraisal of connectionist models of the balance scale task
Philip T Quinlan, Han L J van der Maas, Brenda R J Jansen, Olaf Booij, Mark Rendell
Elsevier Cognition 2006
Abstract
The present paper re-appraises connectionist attempts to explain how human cognitive development appears to progress through a series of sequential stages. Models of performance on the Piagetian balance scale task are the focus of attention. Limitations of these models are discussed and replications and extensions to the work are provided via the Cascade-Correlation algorithm. An application of multi-group latent class analysis for examining performance of the networks is described and these results reveal fundamental functional characteristics of the networks. Evidence is provided that strongly suggests that the networks are unable to acquire a mastery of torque and, although they do recover certain rules of operation that humans do, they also show a propensity to acquire rules never previously seen.
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Final version from science-direct for only $39.95. Free version put online by McClelland (I think...): pdf.
This paper got the Cognitive Psychology Section Award 2008 from the British Psychological Society.
