Connectionist Psycholinguistics

Connectionist psycholinguistics involves using (artificial) 'neural' networks, which are inspired by brain architecture, to model empirical data on the acquisition and processing of language. As such, connectionist psycholinguistics has had a far-reaching impact on language research. In this course, we will survey the state of the art of connectionist psycholinguistics, ranging from speech processing and word recognition, to inflectional morphology, sentence processing, language production and reading. An important focus of discussion will be the methodological and theoretical issues related to computational modeling of psychological data. We will furthermore discuss the broader implications of connectionist models of language, not only for psycholinguistics, but also for computational and linguistic perspectives on language.

Dr. Christiansen has worked extensively with connectionist models of language and is currently working on a book (with Dr. Nick Chater, University of Warwick) outlining an integrated connectionist framework for understanding the evolution, acquisition and processing of language.

Required Text: M.H. Christiansen & N. Chater (Eds.) (2001). Connectionist psycholinguistics. Westport, CT: Ablex.

• Course Outline
• 428 Course requirements
• 628 Course requirements
• Readings
• Get Electronic Materials
• Contact Information

Bernstein Ratner, N., Berko Gleason, J. & Narasimhan, B. (1998). Introduction to psycholinguistics: What do language users know? In J. Berko Gleason & N. Bernstein Ratner (Eds.), Psycholinguistics (2nd ed., pp. 1-40). Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace.

* Caplan, D. & Waters, G. (2002). Working memory and connectionist models of parsing: A reply to MacDonald and Christiansen (2000). Psychological Review, 109, 66-74.

Chang, F., Dell, G.S. & Bock, K. (submitted). Becoming syntactic. Submitted manuscript.

Christiansen, M.H., Allen, J. & Seidenberg, M.S. (1998). Learning to segment speech using multiple cues: A connectionist model. Language and Cognitive Processes, 13, 221-268.

Christiansen, M.H., Conway, C.M. & Curtin, S. (in press). Multiple-cue integration in language acquisition: A connectionist model of speech segmentation and rule-like behavior. In J.W. Minett & W.S.-Y. Wang (Eds.), Language acquisition, change and emergence: Essays in evolutionary linguistics. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press.

Christiansen, M.H. & Curtin, S.L. (1999). Transfer of learning: Rule acquisition or statistical learning? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 289-290.

Christiansen, M.H. & Dale, R.A.C. (2001). Integrating distributional, prosodic and phonological information in a connectionist model of language acquisition. In Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 220-225). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Colunga, E. & Smith, L.B. (2000). Committing to an ontology: A connectionist account. In Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 89-94). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Conway, C.M., Ellefson, M.R., Dale, R. & Christiansen, M.H. (submitted). Connectionist models of developmental disorders: A critical appraisal. In D.L Molfese & V.J. Molfese (Eds.), Handbook of Developmental Neuropsychology. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

* Gaskell, M.G. (2003). Modelling regressive and progressive effects of assimilation in speech perception. Journal of Phonetics, 31, 447-463.

Harm, M., McCandliss, B.D., & Seidenberg, M.S. (2003). Modeling the successes and failures of interventions for disabled readers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 7, 155-182.

Kim, A.E., Srinivas, B., & Trueswell, J.C. (2002). The convergence of lexicalist perspectives in psycholinguistics and computational linguistics. In P. Merlo & S. Stevenson (Eds.), Sentence processing and the lexicon: Formal, computational and experimental perspectives (pp. 109-135). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing.

MacDonald, M.C. & Christiansen, M.H. (2002). Reassessing working memory: A comment on Just and Carpenter (1992) and Waters and Caplan (1996). Psychological Review, 109, 35-54.

Marcus, G.F. (1999). Reply to Christiansen and Curtin. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 290-291.

* Marcus, G.F. (2000). Children's overregularization and its implications for cognition. In P. Broeder & J. Murre (Eds.), Models of language acquisition: Inductive and deductive approaches (pp. 154-176). New York: Oxford University Press.

* Mareschal, D. (2003). The acquisition and use of implicit categories in early development. In D.H. Rakison & L.M. Oakes (Eds.), Early category and concept development: Making sense of the blooming, buzzing confusion (pp. 360-383). New York: Oxford University Press.

McLeod, P., Plunkett, K. & Rolls, E.T. (1998). Introduction to connectionist modeling of cognitive processes (pp. 9-21 + 30-50). New York: Oxford University Press.

Nakisa, R., Plunkett, K. & Hahn, U. (2000). Single- and dual-route models of inflectional morphology. In P. Broeder & J. Murre (Eds.), Models of language acquisition: Inductive and deductive approaches (pp. 201-222). New York: Oxford University Press.

* Roberts, S. & Pashler, H. (2000). How persuasive is a good fit? A comment on theory testing. Psychological Review, 107, 358-367.

Simpson, P. (2000). Using the computer to define and explore theories in psychology. In G.M. Breakwell, S. Hammond & C. Fife-Schaw (Eds.), Research methods in psychology (2nd ed., pp. 338-349). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Thomas, M.S.C. & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2003). Modelling language acquisition in atypical phenotypes. Psychological Review, 110, 647-682.

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Last modified November 11, 2004, by mhc.