Abstract
In recent years, a growing number of researchers have proposed that analogy is a core component of human cognition. According to the dominant theoretical viewpoint, analogical reasoning requires a specific suite of cognitive machinery, including explicitly coded symbolic representations and a mapping or binding mechanism that operates over these representations. Here we offer an alternative approach: we find that analogical inference can emerge naturally and spontaneously from a relatively simple, error-driven learning mechanism without the need to posit any additional analogy-specific machinery. The results also parallel findings from the developmental literature on analogy, demonstrating a shift from an initial reliance on surface feature similarity to the use of relational similarity later in training. Variants of the model allow us to consider and rule out alternative accounts of its performance. We conclude by discussing how these findings can potentially refine our understanding of the processes that are required to perform analogical inference.
Repository Citation
Paul H. Thibodeau, Stephen J. Flusberg, Jeremy J. Glick & Daniel A. Sternberg (2013) An emergent approach to analogical inference, Connection Science, 25:1, 27-53.
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Publication Date
8-13-2013
Publication Title
Connection Science
Department
Psychology
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540091.2013.821458
Keywords
Analogy, Inference, Relational reasoning, Development, Connectionism, Neural network
Document Version
post-print
Language
English
Format
text
