Rational statistical inference: A critical component for word learning.
In order to account for how children can generalize words beyond a very limited set of labeled examples, Bloom's proposal of word learning requires two extensions: a better understanding of the "general learning and memory abilities" involved, and a principled framework for integrating multiple conflicting constraints on word meaning. We propose a framework based on Bayesian statistical inference that meets both of those needs.
Xu
Fei
F
Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115 fxu@neu.edu http://www.psych.neu.edu/People/faculty.shtml.
Tenenbaum
Joshua B
JB