Answers to the Sample Questions (although not necessarily in order)
Assume that “cognitive scientists” do indeed consider themselves to be scientists. How does this make them different from others who might be interested in “the mind”?
What insights have made it possible to study the mind scientifically?
Levels of Theory
What are the three levels of theoretical analysis described by David Marr?
How does Stanovich’s system differ from Marr’s?
Where would the following fit?
Hebbian learning?
Production system models?
Association theories of memory based on propositional representations?
Evolution theories?
The Role of the Brain
Can one can study the mind without knowing anything about the brain? How would the following theorists (probably) respond?
Alan Turing?
David Marr?
Herbert Simon?
John Searle?
Jay McClelland and David Rumelhart?
Testing Cognitive Theories
“Correlation does not necessarily imply causation”. In what kind of cognitive science research is this dictum especially important?
What can we do with fMRI data that we could not do before the technology was invented?
How do we know that vision serves two independent functions (the "what" and the "where")?
Evolution
When Richard Dawkins coined the term, "selfish gene", what point was he trying to make?
What question in psychology is an evolutionary theory able to answer better than any other theory?
How can theories based on evolution be tested?
Modular Processes
What is the difference between a modular process and a domain-general process?
How do we identify modular processes?
Is means-end analysis modular or domain-general?
What is the “frame problem”? Why is it relevant to this issue?
Physical Symbol Systems
What is the connection between Turing machines and physical symbol systems?
Suppose you have misplaced your car keys. How would you try to find them using a heuristic search process?
SHAKEY is an example of a physical symbol system. What are the symbols in this case? What do they stand for?
Propositional Attitudes
What is the connection between propositional attitudes and Stanovich’s (not Marr’s) three-level analysis of theories?
For what problem is Fodor’s “language of thought” suggested as a solution?
What would Fodor’s position be with respect to Searle’s Chinese room argument?
Connectionist Models
Supposedly, connectionist models degrade gracefully, when compared with physical symbol systems. Why? (What makes them graceful?)
Connectionist models have been referred to (in a derogatory tone) by Steven Pinker as “connectoplasm”. Why would he use this term?
Performance of Connectionist Models
We have looked at three kinds of connectionist models, Hebbian, Perceptrons, and Multilevel Models. Which would you recommend using to solve the following tasks?
Identify friendly and unfriendly animals
Identify trees by looking at their leaves
Learn to understand the English language
Physical Symbol Systems versus Connectionist Models
Which type of model is (probably) being used in the following cases?
The model knows the rules for playing chess.
The model’s performance improves significantly over several trials.
The model uses a heuristic search process.
Although the model improves over time, it fails to become perfect.
Each new piece of knowledge is a new set of associations in the model