Symbol Grounding or the Emergence of Symbols? Vocabulary Growth in Children and a Connectionist Net

The Symbolic Grounding Problem is viewed as a by-product of the classical cognitivist approach to studying the mind. In contrast, an epigenetic interpretation of connectionist approaches to studying the mind is shown to offer an account of symbolic skills as an emergent, developmental phenomenon. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Connection science 1992-01, Vol.4 (3-4), p.293-312
Main Authors: PLUNKETT, KIM, SINHA, CHRIS, MØLLER, MARTIN F., STRANDSBY, OLE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
auto-association
comprehension
concept formation
epigenesis
neural networks
over-extension
production
prototypes
semantic development
Symbol grounding
symbolic behaviour
vocabulary growth
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Summary:The Symbolic Grounding Problem is viewed as a by-product of the classical cognitivist approach to studying the mind. In contrast, an epigenetic interpretation of connectionist approaches to studying the mind is shown to offer an account of symbolic skills as an emergent, developmental phenomenon. We describe a connectionist model of concept formation and vocabulary growth that auto-associates image representations and their associated labels. The image representations consist of clusters of random dot figures, generated by distorting prototypes. Any given label is associated with a cluster of random dot figures. The network model is tested on its ability to reproduce image representations given input labels alone (comprehension) and to identify labels given input images alone (production). The model implements several well-documented findings in the literature on early semantic development; the occurrence of over- and under-extension errors; a vocabulary spurt; a comprehension/production asymmetry; and a prototype effect. It is shown how these apparently disparate findings can be attributed to the operation of a single underlying mechanism rather than by invoking separate explanations for each phenomenon. The model represents a first step in the direction of providing a formal explanation of the emergence of symbolic behaviour in young children.
ISSN:0954-0091
1360-0494
DOI:10.1080/09540099208946620