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  Under what conditions can recursion be learned? Effects of starting small in artificial grammar learning of recursive structure

Poletiek, F. H., Conway, C. M., Ellefson, M. R., Lai, J., Bocanegra, B. R., & Christiansen, M. H. (2018). Under what conditions can recursion be learned? Effects of starting small in artificial grammar learning of recursive structure. Cognitive Science, 42(8), 2855-2889. doi:10.1111/cogs.12685.

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© 2018 The Authors. Cognitive Science ‐ A Multidisciplinary Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Poletiek, Fenna H.1, 2, Author           
Conway, Christopher M3, Author
Ellefson, Michelle R.4, Author
Lai, Jun1, Author
Bocanegra, Bruno R.5, Author
Christiansen, Morten H.6, Author
Affiliations:
1Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, ou_persistent22              
2Neurobiology of Language Department, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society, Nijmegen, NL, ou_792551              
3Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA, ou_persistent22              
4Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, ou_persistent22              
5Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, ou_persistent22              
6Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, ou_persistent22              

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 Abstract: It has been suggested that external and/or internal limitations paradoxically may lead to superior learning, that is, the concepts of starting small and less is more (Elman, 1993; Newport, 1990). In this paper, we explore the type of incremental ordering during training that might help learning, and what mechanism explains this facilitation. We report four artificial grammar learning experiments with human participants. In Experiments 1a and 1b we found a beneficial effect of starting small using two types of simple recursive grammars: right‐branching and center‐embedding, with recursive embedded clauses in fixed positions and fixed length. This effect was replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 100). In Experiment 3 and 4, we used a more complex center‐embedded grammar with recursive loops in variable positions, producing strings of variable length. When participants were presented an incremental ordering of training stimuli, as in natural language, they were better able to generalize their knowledge of simple units to more complex units when the training input “grew” according to structural complexity, compared to when it “grew” according to string length. Overall, the results suggest that starting small confers an advantage for learning complex center‐embedded structures when the input is organized according to structural complexity.

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Language(s): eng - English
 Dates: 20182018-09-272018-12-06
 Publication Status: Issued
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 Rev. Type: Peer
 Identifiers: DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12685
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Title: Cognitive Science
Source Genre: Journal
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Pages: - Volume / Issue: 42 (8) Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 2855 - 2889 Identifier: ISSN: 0364-0213
CoNE: https://pure.mpg.de/cone/journals/resource/954925523741