A comparison of game theory and learning theory

It is shown that Estes' formula for the asymptotic behavior of a subject under conditions of partial reinforcement can be derived from the assumption that the subject is behaving rationally in a certain game-theoretic sense and attempting to minimax his regret. This result illustrates the need for specifying the frame of reference or set of the subject when using the assumption of rationality to predict his behavior.     

A closed-loop theory of motor learning

Following a discussion of the meaning of the term "skills" and a review of historical influences on their learning, a closed-loop theory for learning simple movements is presented. Empirical generalizations from the literature are stated, and the theory is used to explain them. The generalizations are of 2 classes: learning through the application of knowledge of results, and the effects of withdrawing knowledge of results.     

A theory of learning and transfer: I

A rational theory of discrimination learning is developed for the special case in which the subject must discriminate between two stimuli which differ with respect to one variable such as size or brightness. It is shown that the previous equations developed by Gulliksen and Thurstone are special cases of the present one. It is predicted that the ultimate level of accuracy of the discrimination is inversely related to the difference, as determined psychophysically, between the two stimuli. Other implications of the theory for experimental work are presented.We are grateful to the members of Professor Thurstone's Seminar in Mathematical Psychology for criticism of this paper and particularly to Mr. John Reiner for assistance in the derivations involved.     

A theory of learning and transfer: II

The theory of discrimination learning developed in Part I of this paper is extended to more complex learning situations such as those used for differentiating relative from absolute habits. The greater difficulty of learning an absolute discrimination than of learning a relative discrimination is predicted. The theory is also extended to cover cases of transfer. It predicts that under the ordinary training conditions transfer to new stimulus situations will be on a relative basis, and it predicts the type of transfer to be expected under other training conditions. A number of additional established facts of learning and transfer can be deduced from the theory. Methods of testing the adequacy of the theory by new and more crucial experiments are suggested.     

A mathematical theory of learning transformational grammar

How to explain the fact that children learn language is a central problem for both psychology and linguistics. Suppes says that “the linguists' insistence that they will accept nothing less than a complete and detailed account will probably turn out to be the most important conceptual demand on psychology in this century”. This paper speaks to that demand by presenting a complete formal characterization of the learning process and the language environment in which it operates. The assumptions are in general accord with psychological and linguistic principles. It is proved that the system converges; that is, the learning process, acting on the linguistic information it receives, learns the language, according to a formal criterion.     

A general theory of learning and conditioning: Part II

The second of two parts of this article extends a mathematical theory of non-symbolic learning and conditioning to cases where reward and punishment are involved. The preceding results are generalized to the case where stimuli and responses are related psychophysically, thus constituting a theory of transfer, generalization, and discrimination.     

A general theory of learning and conditioning: Part I

In the first of two parts in which a general mathematical theory of non-symbolic learning and conditioning is constructed, the sections of the theory dealing with non-symbolic learning and conditioning are presented, and a number of its qualitative implications are compared with available experimental results. In general, the agreement is found to be rather close.     

Physiological learning theory

Attention or concentration requires control of activity in those excess neurons that are not necessary for the present task. The control is probably not a massive inhibitory suppression but may be a recruiting process, a function of complex perceptual and associative learning that begins with early experience. Inhibition, however, may still be of crucial importance as a sharpener of associative mechanisms, and the child with minimal brain damage may have suffered a selective loss of inhibitory neurons.Paper prepared for reading at the Ciba Medical Horizons conference on MBD (minimal brain dysfunction), Omaha, Nebraska, April 2, 1976.