creators_name: Schlesinger, Matthew
creators_name: Barto, Andrew
creators_id: mattiejo
creators_id: 
type: confpaper
datestamp: 2003-01-09
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:55:08
metadata_visibility: show
title: Optimal control methods for simulating the perception of causality in young infants
ispublished: pub
subjects: dev-psy
subjects: percep-cog-psy
full_text_status: public
abstract: There is a growing debate among developmental theorists concerning the perception of causality in young infants. Some theorists advocate a top-down view, e.g., that infants reason about causal events on the basis of intuitive physical principles.  Others argue instead for a bottom-up view of infant causal knowledge, in which causal perception emerges from a simple set of associative learning  rules. In order to test the limits of the bottom-up view, we propose an optimal control model (OCM) of infant causal perception. OCM is trained to find an optimal pattern  of eye movements for maintaining sight of a target object. We first present a series of simulations which illustrate OCM's ability to anticipate the outcome of novel, occluded causal events, and then compare OCM's performance with that of 9-month-old infants. The impications for developmental theory and research are discussed
date: 1999
date_type: published
pagerange: 625-630
refereed: TRUE
citation:   Schlesinger, Matthew and Barto, Andrew  (1999) Optimal control methods for simulating the perception of causality in young infants.  [Conference Paper]     
document_url: http://cogprints.org/2701/2/cogsci99.pdf