LIN 260 Midterm

computational theory

What is the goal of the computation, why is it appropriate, and what is the logic of the strategy by which it can be carried out? input and output.

representation and algorithm

how can this computational theory be implemented? in particular, what is the representation for the input and output, and what is the algorithm for the transformation? step-by-step process.

computational example

input: two numbers; output: the product of those two numbers

algorithmic example

14 X 11; 14(10 + 1); (14x10)(14x1); 140 + 14 = 154

hardware example

your brain, pen, and paper

syntactic structures (Chomsky 1957)

how to characterize what makes some sentences grammatical, but not others?

ungrammatical but felicitous

what did alice cut the onions and BLANK with a knife?

ungrammatical and infelicitous

furiously sleep ideas green colorless

Sternberg (1969)

how do we access the information in our memory? applied the subtraction method

parallel search

look at memory all at once and answer yes or no

serial self-terminating search

look at each individual memory, end when answer is found

serial exhaustive search

look at each individual memory, answer cannot be conclude until the end

intercept

initial condition for a set of data

RT1

time it takes to press the button when the light comes on. time to perceive the light + time to press the button

RT2

time to takes to press the left button if it comes on, right button if it comes on. time to perceive the light + time to decide + time to press the button

subtraction method

measuring the reaction time for a task that includes that process, then subtracting the reaction time for a similar task that does not include the process

farah et al (1995)

is there a specific module for facial recognition? results found that there was.

broca's and wernicke's area

parts of the brain that are responsible for speech

finite-state machine

an exact formal model for the representation of langauge

a language (in a formal sense)

a set of strings built over a finite alphabet, an fsm only accepts strings in that language

prototype theory

the "best" or "most typical" member of a category

exemplar theory

we make category judgments by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances of the category

category

a collection of things regarded as having shared characteristics

hardware implementation

how can the representation and algorithm be realized physically?

phonetics

concrete speech sounds

phonology

abstract organization of sounds

morphology

organization of words

syntax

organization of utterances

semantics

literal meaning of utterances

pragmatics

meaning as part of the discourse

grammaticality

is an utterance well-formed in language x?

felicity

is an utterance sensical in language x?

grammatical and felicitous

alice cut the onions and peppers with a knife

grammatical but infelicitous

colorless green ideas sleep furiously

what is cognitive science?

the study of the mind. how does the mind process and represent information?

components of cognitive science

psychology, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience

information processing approach

generate testable predictions, measure behavior, analyze results, evaluate with respect to theory

results of Sternberg's study

serial exhaustive search

parallel search response time

constant regardless of set size

serial self-terminating search response time

increase with set size, worse for no

serial exhaustive search response time

increase with set size, same for yes or no

donders (1868)

how long does it take to make a decision?

decision time equation

RT2 - RT1 = (perception time + decision time + press time) - (perception time + press time)

prosopagnosia

face blindness

where is language localized in the brain?

the left hemisphere

aphasia

damage to these areas

broca's aphasia

mostly structure

wernicke's aphasia

mostly meaning

bayes rule

the probability of b given a is equal to the probability of a given b times the probability of b divided by the probability of a

minimal pairs

words that differ by only one phoneme

phonemes

sound categories

unsupervised learning

direct feedback is not provided, language works this way

supervised learning

direct feedback, most formal education works this way

subordinate

more specific

superordinate

more general

concept

characterization of a category

voiced

vocal cords vibrate when sound is produced

voiceless

vocal cords do not vibrate when sound is produced