How is Abstract, Generative Knowledge Acquired

How is Abstract, Generative Knowledge Acquired? A Comparison of Three Learning Scenarios

Several theories of learning have been proposed to account for the acquisition of abstract, generative knowledge including schema theory, analogical learning and implicit learning. However, past research has not compared these three theories directly. In the present studies we instantiated each theory as a learning scenario (i.e., direct instruction, analogy training and implicit training) and ...

Dutch Stress Acquisition: OT and Connectionist Approaches

The task of acquiring phonology is not a simple one; a languageÕs phonological system involves a relatively complex set of patterns made up of abstract grammatical elements such as phonemes, moras, feet and prosodic words. And yet, children are able to acquire a great deal of their languageÕs phonological system relatively quickly and efficiently. How are children able to acquire the sound patt...

The experiential basis of meaning

How are abstract ideas acquired and structured? One idea is that people’s understanding of abstract domains is constructed using more basic, experiential knowledge that is acquired directly. For instance, a series of studies (Boroditsky 2000, Boroditsky & Ramscar, 2002) has shown that people’s understanding of time supervenes on their physical conceptions of space, to the extent that manipulati...

How is the Mother Tongue Acquired

Running head: ABSTRACT CAUSAL KNOWLEDGE The acquisition and use of abstract causal knowledge

Real-world causal learning is often supported by causal schemata, or systems of abstract causal knowledge. We present a hierarchical Bayesian framework that helps to explain how these schemata are acquired and how they guide inferences about the causal powers of new, sparsely observed objects. Given a set of objects and observations of causal events involving some of these objects, our framewor...