DOCSLIB.ORG

Stenning.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Stenning.Pdf Logical and psychological relations between the `False Belief Task' and counterfactual reasoninga Keith Stenning Universitiy of Edinburgh DIPLEAP Workshop 26 - 28 November, 2010. Vienna, Austria aThis work is a joint project with Michiel van Lambalgen of the University of Amsterdam Counterfactuals in logic and psychology • there is much psychological interest in children's counterfactual rea- soning • children reason differently with hypotheticals and counterfactuals • a first logical response: possible worlds semantics|a classical logical analysis • but the tasks are `discourse understanding'|not adversarial inference Counterfactuals, nonmonotonic logics, and false-belief • an alternative logical response is to use non-monotonic logics for rea- soning to interpretations to explore children's discourse reasoning • the relation between counterfactuals and false-belief reasoning is a further active psychological issue • [Peterson and Riggs, 1999] proposed that problems with counterfac- tual reasoning were what made false-belief reasoning hard, and [Riggs et al., 1998] presented data to support the claim • [Stenning and van Lambalgen, 2008] proposed a nonmonotonic logical analysis of false-belief reasoning which related it to reasoning with counterfactuals • other data, notably [Perner et al., 2004], casts doubt on this alignment Nonmonotonic logic|the basic model • A ^ ab ! B read as "If A, and nothing is abnormal, then B" • information that is at present unknown (φ) may turn out to constitute an abnormality (φ ! ab) • if there is no such φ then, by the closed world assumption :ab • if φ is all the new information, then again by the closed world assump- tion φ ≡ ab • in this case the conditional has the form A ^ :φ ! B • this apparatus builds in certain assumptions about the set-up: { there is a database of long-term regularities (think the active part of LongTermMemory) { the `discourse' arrives sentence by sentence and is interpreted relative to the database, and to the discourse up to that point The overall properties of this nonmonotonic logic • a model of 'automatic' rather than cogitative reasoning|cheap, fast, reflexive reasoning over large databases of LTM in interpreting dis- course • it is neurally implementable as spreading activation [Stenning and van Lambalgen, 2005] • produces a unique minimal model at every sentence addition, in time linear with the depth of spreading activation • think of it as a core inference engine, but one which requires some 'executive' management to perform many tasks • although used here to model discourse, it is not particularly 'linguistic'|as `planning logic', it is used for robot motor control Hypothetical vs. Counterfactual reasoning Taken from [Perner and Rafetseder, ress];[Rafetseder et al., 2010]: \Basic (hypothetical) conditional reasoning applies regularities such as: If (whenever) it doesn't rain, the street is dry to questions such as: If it had not rained, would the street be wet or dry? without considering actual events [other possible regularities?]such as: if street cleaners have just been washing the street, the street is wet In counterfactual reasoning, however, the conditional reasoning must be constrained by actual events (according to the nearest pos- sible world)." [any relevant regularity whether mentioned or not?] What would nonmonotonic logic say here? • basic conditional reasoning is discourse processing with the closed- world assumption (otherwise no explanation of suppression phenom- ena) • In counterfactual reasoning two models are relevant: the reference model, and the counterfactual model • in counterfactual reasoning the world may not be simply closed • we can refer to some 'facts and regularities' of this independently specified situation without them having been explicitly mentioned • so the street cleaners are an abnormality which might be introduced • non-closure is constrained to the 'nearest' model differing only at the counterfactual proposition and its consequences in the database • this non-closure is a relative affair, may not be from the 'actual' world and is certainly not specified in total detail • just remember, experimental psychology is about subjects understand- ing fictions Nonmonotonic logic generates where `possible worlds semantics' searches • possible worlds semantics goes with classical logic in specifying all logical possibilities relative to a fixed set of premises (with fixed inter- pretation) • defeasible logic (at least this weak one) generates unique models as each new 'premise' arrives • so it could be seen as generating the analogue of the 'nearest possible world' once new premises are introduced • this is much closer to some implementable candidate for a psycholog- ical process than possible worlds semantics False-belief principles in a defeasible logic framework The formal treatment is given in [Stenning and van Lambalgen, 2008, pps. 249{262] sections 9.4/9.5; cf. also first set of slides • perceptions cause beliefs: when Maxi sees the chocolate, he believes it is in the box [theory-theory] • principle of inertia: unless something happens, this belief persists [the closed world assumption is itself a form of inertia] • the prepotent response: intrusion of the `reference model' [executive function theory: in neural implementations this shows up as a process of inhibition (or not) by abnormalities] • the logic enables the fractionation of possible causes into those falling under theory-theory or executive function theory • both kinds of mechanism are essential to a working system • NB no need for Peterson's proposal of `simulation' (vs. `theory') Benefits of analysis: logical and psychological • the false-belief task is about beliefs|why not logics of belief then? • there is an operator Ba which is a bit like a modal operator • but this close logical analysis of the task reveals that it is more about: the relation of belief to sensory information, verbal information, per- sistence, and belief reports. Not about how to get from belief in one proposition to belief in another • the analysis has strong implications for modularity (at least in the sense of a bit of neural tissue doing ToM reasoning and nothing else) [Stenning and van Lambalgen, 2007] • the analysis requires combining of rules about mental entities with notions about acting in the world, by means of a powerful inference engine controlled by executive functions • analysis raises new psychological issues, and the data can raise logical modelling issues Counterfactuals and false-belief tasks • [Riggs and Peterson, 2000]; [Riggs et al., 1998] argue problems with false-belief tasks are actually with counterfactuals • [Stenning and van Lambalgen, 2008, pps. 259{262] section 9.5 ex- tends the FBT analysis just described to Peterson's mother-bakes-a- cake example Formalising counterfactual reasoning • Counterfactual question: `where would the chocolate be if Mummy hadn't baked a cake?' • put p:= chocolate in cupboard, q:= chocolate in fridge, a:= Mummy bakes a cake; predicates HoldsAt; Happens; ab • Principles 1. HoldsAt(p; t) ^ t < t0 ^ :ab(t; t0) ! HoldsAt(p; t0) 2. Happens(a; s) ^ t < s < t0 ! ab(t; t0) 3. HoldsAt(p; s) ^ Happens(a; s) ^ s < t ! HoldsAt(q; t) • Rules 1 and 3 are in potential conflict, but { if for some s, Happens(a; s), then rule 1 is disabled and rule 3 applies { if for no s, Happens(a; s), it follows by CWR that :ab(t; t0), so that rule 1 applies; moreover rule 3 is disabled • the second case answers the counterfactual question [Stenning and van Lambalgen, 2008, p. 261{262] If we now compare the two tasks, we see that the reasoning involved is very similar, but that the false{belief task requires a more extensive set of principles. Thus, failure on the counterfactual task may be expected to lead to failure on the false{belief task, because in both cases it is the prepotent response that is assumed to be operative, perhaps as a derivative effect. Success on the counterfactual task by itself does not imply success on the false{belief task, because the calculations for the latter involve combining reasoning about information sources, inertial properties, and closed{world reasoning. In this sense false{belief reports are a proper subspecies of counterfactuals, and it would be interesting if they could be shown to be harder for some populations. Counterfactuals vs. FBT: conclusions from the analysis • the analysis captures some differences and some commonalities • a difference: FBT reasoning demands the child understands causal relation between perception and belief : not so for the counterfactual examples • similarities: task involves much of the machinery of discourse reason- ing of FBT (e.g. inertia of closed world reasoning, nonmonotonicity, . ). Both require possibly complex inference about a minimal change in an assumption, and executive handling of interference between al- ternatives • so it shouldn't be surprising if there is a correlation, or that the FBT is harder But were we dead already? [Perner et al., 2004] • in 2004, around the time we were doing this analysis of the FBT/Counterfactuals . • unbeknownst to us, Perner, Sprong and Steinkogler published an ex- perimental paper dissociating counterfactuals and the FBT • the experiment and its interpretation are complex|it contrasts sim- ple and complex travel scenarios and embeds counterfactual and FB reasoning in both • the upshot is that counterfactuals show clear interactions of complexity of scenario and age, whereas FBT shows interactions of reasoning and age, but without any effect of subsidiary scenario
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Rational Analysis of the Selection Task As Optimal Data Selection
    Psychological Review Copyright 1994 by the American Psychological Association. Inc. 1994. Vol. 101. No. 4, 608-631 0033-295X/94/S3.00 A Rational Analysis of the Selection Task as Optimal Data Selection Mike Oaksford and Nick Chater Human reasoning in hypothesis-testing tasks like Wason's (1966, 1968) selection task has been de- picted as prone to systematic biases. However, performance on this task has been assessed against a now outmoded falsificationist philosophy of science. Therefore, the experimental data is reassessed in the light of a Bayesian model of optimal data selection in inductive hypothesis testing. The model provides a rational analysis (Anderson, 1990) of the selection task that fits well with people's perfor- mance on both abstract and thematic versions of the task. The model suggests that reasoning in these tasks may be rational rather than subject to systematic bias. Over the past 30 years, results in the psychology of reasoning 1990; Evans, 1993; Stich, 1990). In particular, Anderson (1990) have raised doubts about human rationality. The assumption of argued that we must distinguish normative from adaptive ratio- human rationality has a long history. Aristotle took the capacity nality. An organism's behavior is rational if it is optimally for rational thought to be the defining characteristic of human adapted to its environment, even if reasoning according to logi- beings, the capacity that separated us from the animals. Des- cal rules had no causal role in producing the behavior. Such cartes regarded the ability to use language and to reason as the optimality assumptions have become widespread in contempo- hallmarks of the mental that separated it from the merely phys- rary social and behavioral science, from economics (Simon, ical.
    [Show full text]
  • Socratic Dialogue As a Teaching and Research Method for Co- Creativity?
    Edinburgh Research Explorer Socratic dialogue as a teaching and research method for co- creativity? Citation for published version: Stenning, K, Schmoelz, A, Wren, H, Stouraitis, E, Scaltsas, T, Alexopoulos, K & Aichhorn, A 2016, 'Socratic dialogue as a teaching and research method for co-creativity?', Digital Culture and Education, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 154-168. Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: Digital Culture and Education General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 05. Oct. 2021 DIGITAL CULTURE & EDUCATION, 8(2) 2016, ISSN 1836-8301 Digital Culture & Education (DCE) Publication details, including instructions for authors http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/ Socratic dialogue as a teaching and research method for co-creativity? Keith Stenningb Alexander Schmoelza Heather Wren Elias Stouraitisc Theodore Scaltsasb Constantine Alexopoulosb Amelie Aichhorn a University of Vienna b University of Edinburgh c Ellinogermaniki Agogi Online Publication Date: 1st July 2016 To cite this Article: Stenning, K., Schmoelz, A., Wren, H., Stouraitis, E., Alexopoulos, C., & Aichhorn, A.
    [Show full text]
  • Explaining the Discontinuity Between Human and Nonhuman Minds
    BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2008) 31, 109–178 Printed in the United States of America doi: 10.1017/S0140525X08003543 Darwin’s mistake: Explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds Derek C. Penn Department of Psychology, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095; Cognitive Evolution Group, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504 [email protected] http://reasoninglab.psych.ucla.edu/ http://www.cognitiveevolutiongroup.org/ Keith J. Holyoak Department of Psychology, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 [email protected] http://reasoninglab.psych.ucla.edu/ Daniel J. Povinelli Cognitive Evolution Group, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504 [email protected] http://www.cognitiveevolutiongroup.org/ Abstract: Over the last quarter century, the dominant tendency in comparative cognitive psychology has been to emphasize the similarities between human and nonhuman minds and to downplay the differences as “one of degree and not of kind” (Darwin 1871). In the present target article, we argue that Darwin was mistaken: the profound biological continuity between human and nonhuman animals masks an equally profound discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds. To wit, there is a significant discontinuity in the degree to which human and nonhuman animals are able to approximate the higher-order, systematic, relational capabilities of a physical symbol system (PSS) (Newell 1980). We show that this symbolic-relational discontinuity pervades nearly every domain of cognition and runs much deeper than even the spectacular scaffolding provided by language or culture alone can explain. We propose a representational-level specification as to where human and nonhuman animals’ abilities to approximate a PSS are similar and where they differ.
    [Show full text]
  • Joanna J. Bryson
    Joanna J. Bryson Department of Computer Science Resident in NJ 08536 [email protected] University of Bath United States of America http://www.cs.bath.ac.uk/∼jjb Bath BA2 7AY +1 (609) 285-3596 United Kingdom Education PH.D. IN COMPUTER SCIENCE June 2001 THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Dissertation Title: Intelligence by Design: Principles of Modularity and Coordination for Engineering Complex Adaptive Agents. Courses Include: Principles of Computing Systems, Embodiment and Cognition, Computer Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Theory of Computation. 1 M.PHIL. IN PSYCHOLOGY January 2000 THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Dissertation Title: The Study of Sequential and Hierarchical Organization of Behavior via Arti- ficial Mechanisms of Action Selection. Research conducted 1996–1998; viva postponed for convenience; passed on first attempt. Tony Prescott, external. M.SC. IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE November 1992 THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Dissertation Title: The Subsumption Strategy Development of a Music Modelling System Courses Include: Knowledge Representation and Inference, Intelligent Sensing and Control, Neural Networks, Software for Parallel Architectures, Expert Systems B.A. IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE June 1986 THE COLLEGE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Courses Include: Human Information Processing, Perception, Human Interaction, Developmental Neuropsychology, Ethology Employment DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE University of Bath, England Bath is a small, research-oriented university. Founded in 1966, now consistently ranked in the top ten British Universities by British newspapers. Founding leader for Intelligent Systems, one of four research groups in the department. Organiser for mailing lists and seminar series: Artificial Models of Natural Intelligence (amoni), Bath Evolutionary Social Sciences, Bath AI; also active participant in neuroscience and robotics communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Reasoning and Cognitive Science
    COGNITIVE SCIENCE HUMAN REASONING AND AN COGNITIVE SCIENCE D COGNITIVE HUMAN REASONING HUMAN REASONING Keith Stenning and Michiel van Lambalgen In Human Reasoning and Cognitive Science, Keith HUMAN Stenning and Michiel van Lambalgen—a cognitive scientist and a logician—argue for the indispensability Keith Stenning is Professor of Human “Once in a while there is a body of work that reconceptualizes a topic of research. of modern mathematical logic to the study of human Communication in the School of Informatics at This book reports and reviews such a body of work. The result is a framing and REASONING reasoning. Logic and cognition were once closely the University of Edinburgh. He is author of Seeing hypotheses about reasoning that, in my judgment, fundamentally reconstructs the SC connected, they write, but were “divorced” in the past psychology of inferential reasoning.... This book will be regarded as the major AND century; the psychology of deduction went from being Reason and coauthor of Introduction to Cognition IEN turning point in the field’s development.” central to the cognitive revolution to being the subject of and Communication (MIT Press, 2006). C COGNITIVE widespread skepticism about whether human reasoning James Greeno, LRDC, University of Pittsburgh E really happens outside the academy. Stenning and van Lambalgen argue that logic and reasoning have V Michiel van Lambalgen is Professor of Logic and S been separated because of a series of unwarranted AN ScIENCE TENNING “This deep and stimulating book, by a leading psychologist and a leading logician, assumptions about logic. Cognitive Science at the University of Amsterdam L is about the choice of logical formalisms for representing actual reasoning.
    [Show full text]
  • Diagrams 2018 Graduate Symposium Proceedings
    Proceedings of Graduate Symposium Editor: Andrew Blake University of Brighton, United Kingdom [email protected] Preface The Diagrams Graduate Symposium (GS) provides Master and Doctoral students with an opportunity to present their work and get feedback from established researchers in the field. It is also a supportive environment for students to network and make contact with potential future colleagues or employers. The GS was an integral part of the Diagrams 2018 programme. As in previous years, lively discussions led to suggestions about the students’ on-going research, and allowed experienced participants to hear fresh ideas and view some of the new trends in the field. This year’s GS proceedings constitute eleven student papers. These are short papers that describe the students’ research. Each paper was reviewed by two distinguished scholars whom provided constructive and detailed feedback to the students. Further to the reviewer’s feedback, students were assigned mentors for the duration of the conference. An important part of the mentor’s role was to provide constructive feedback and advice in response to their student’s presentation. Students, therefore, received valuable and construction feedback for both their paper and presentation. The success of this year’s GS arose for a number of important reasons. The diversity of the students assured, in part, the quality of their research. For example, students represented nine different universities from five different countries across three continents. Diagrams 2018 also received valuable funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) facilitating graduates from the USA to make the long journey to Edinburgh. The conference organising committee worked hard to ensure the smooth running of each day’s events.
    [Show full text]
  • Statement on the Research Excellence Framework Proposals
    Statement on the Research Excellence Framework proposals The latest proposal by the higher education funding councils is If implemented, these proposals risk undermining support for for 25% of the new Research Excellence Framework (REF) to basic research across all disciplines and may well lead to an be assessed according to 'economic and social impact'. As academic brain drain to countries such as the United States academics, researchers and higher education professionals we that continue to value fundamental research. believe that it is counterproductive to make funding for the best research conditional on its perceived economic and social Universities must continue to be spaces in which the spirit of benefits. adventure thrives and where researchers enjoy academic freedom to push back the boundaries of knowledge in their The REF proposals are founded on a lack of understanding of disciplines. how knowledge advances. It is often difficult to predict which research will create the greatest practical impact. History We, therefore, call on the UK funding councils to shows us that in many instances it is curiosity-driven research withdraw the current REF proposals and to work with that has led to major scientific and cultural advances. academics and researchers on creating a funding regime which supports and fosters basic research in our universities and colleges rather than discourages it. Signed: Name Institution Relevant titles/positions Sir Tim Hunt Cancer Research UK FRS, Nobel Laureate 2001 Professor John Dainton University of Liverpool Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the Institute of Physics Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) Name Institution Relevant titles/positions Professor Venki Ramakrishnan University of Cambridge FRS, Nobel Prize in Chemistry Professor Brian Josephson University of Cambridge Nobel Laureate in Physics Professor Harry Kroto The Florida State University FRS Professor Donald W Braben UCL Sir John Walker Medical Research Council and University of FRS, F.
    [Show full text]
  • Explaining the Discontinuity Between Human and Nonhuman Minds
    BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2008) 31, 109–178 Printed in the United States of America doi: 10.1017/S0140525X08003543 Darwin’s mistake: Explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds Derek C. Penn Department of Psychology, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095; Cognitive Evolution Group, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504 [email protected] http://reasoninglab.psych.ucla.edu/ http://www.cognitiveevolutiongroup.org/ Keith J. Holyoak Department of Psychology, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 [email protected] http://reasoninglab.psych.ucla.edu/ Daniel J. Povinelli Cognitive Evolution Group, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504 [email protected] http://www.cognitiveevolutiongroup.org/ Abstract: Over the last quarter century, the dominant tendency in comparative cognitive psychology has been to emphasize the similarities between human and nonhuman minds and to downplay the differences as “one of degree and not of kind” (Darwin 1871). In the present target article, we argue that Darwin was mistaken: the profound biological continuity between human and nonhuman animals masks an equally profound discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds. To wit, there is a significant discontinuity in the degree to which human and nonhuman animals are able to approximate the higher-order, systematic, relational capabilities of a physical symbol system (PSS) (Newell 1980). We show that this symbolic-relational discontinuity pervades nearly every domain of cognition and runs much deeper than even the spectacular scaffolding provided by language or culture alone can explain. We propose a representational-level specification as to where human and nonhuman animals’ abilities to approximate a PSS are similar and where they differ.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 6, Number 7 (Optimised for Screen Readers)
    Volume 6, Number 7 July 2012 www.thereasoner.org ISSN 1757-0522 Contents Editorial Features News What’s Hot in . Events Courses and Programmes Jobs and Studentships Editorial Over the last decades, the relations between psychology, logic and philosophy on the topic of reasoning have been somewhat strained. Once the Piagetian idea that classical, traditional logic provided a good descriptive model of human reasoning was thought to have foundered on Wason’s critique in the 1960s, psychologists were increasingly convinced that logic had nothing to offer for their investigations. Logicians, in turn, were developing increasingly sophisticated and varied logical systems, but paying little attention to how (and whether) these systems were in fact connected to human reasoning au naturel. Philosophers, at the other end, held on to the idea that philos- ophy is about what ought to be the case, not about what is the case, and thus for the most part viewed the results in the psy- chology of reasoning as philosophically irrelevant. The absence of contact between these different disciplines is still essentially the current situation, but with a few notable and very exciting exceptions. The work of Keith Stenning in partic- ular boldly breaks down the borders between these disciplines, and thereby offers a much more encompassing and nuanced ac- count of human reasoning than what can be found elsewhere. Keith is an honorary professor at the University of Edinburgh, where for years (1990–2000) he led the Human Communication Research Center. He is the author of countless articles and two books: Seeing Reason (OUP, 2002) and, with Michiel van Lambalgen, Human Reasoning and Cognitive Science (MIT Press, 2008).
    [Show full text]
  • Socratic Dialogue As a Teaching and Research Method for Co-Creativity?
    DIGITAL CULTURE & EDUCATION, 8(2) 2016, ISSN 1836-8301 Digital Culture & Education (DCE) Publication details, including instructions for authors http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/ Socratic dialogue as a teaching and research method for co-creativity? Keith Stenningb Alexander Schmoelza Heather Wren Elias Stouraitisc Theodore Scaltsasb Constantine Alexopoulosb Amelie Aichhorn a University of Vienna b University of Edinburgh c Ellinogermaniki Agogi Online Publication Date: 1st July 2016 To cite this Article: Stenning, K., Schmoelz, A., Wren, H., Stouraitis, E., Scaltsas, T., Alexopoulos, C., & Aichhorn, A. (2016). Socratic dialogue as a teaching and research method for co-creativity?. Digital Culture & Education, 8(2), 154-68. URL: http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/stenning.et.al.pdf PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE SOCRATIC DIALOGUE AS A TEACHING AND RESEARCH METHOD FOR CO-CREATIVITY? Keith Stenning, Alexander Schmoelz, Heather Wren, Elias Stouraitis, Theodore Scaltsas, Konstantine Alexopoulos & Amelie Aichhorn Abstract: We sketch a theory of creativity which centres on the framing of activity by repetitive thinking and action, and sees creativity as divergences from these routines which is thereby framed against them. Without a repetitive frame creativity is impossible. Mere repetition is not creative, even if new. Creativity disrupts a frame, purposefully. Socratic Dialogue is an ancient technique of engaging a student in a dialogue by asking non-leading questions, aimed at revealing to the student how much knowledge he or she already has on some topic: Socrates' demonstration to the slave-boy (and the audience) that the boy already knows geometry (without any schooling) is the founding example. We aim to illustrate that internalising the Socratic kind of reflective self-questioning and co-questioning is intimately related to the view of creativity as the reframing of routine.
    [Show full text]