Cognition, Learning and Memory:  A Parallel Distributed     Processing Approach
{'Code': '04040500', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'BCS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Jasmine Young', 'PO_EMAI': 'jyoung@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032924833'}
This project will consider two topics that arise in the                         development of a theoretical framework, known as the parallel                   distributed processing (PDP) framework, for understanding                       learning, memory, and cognitive processes.  In this framework,                  cognitive processes emerge from the simultaneous activity of a                  large number of simple processing units; the knowledge that                     governs processing is represented by the numerical strengths of                 connections among the units.  The approach will be applied to                   recall of information from memory and to language acquisition.                                                                                                  From a PDP perspective, recall becomes a process of constructing                the representation of a to-be-remembered item from the                          contributions of a number of prior experiences.  This view                      predicts that information acquired at different times may be                    combined in the same act of recall, producing "blend" errors in                 memory.  The first part of the project will verify that such                    errors occur and will examine the circumstances under which they                occur.  The experiments will examine the effects of similarity of               memory traces, will assess the tendency for blend errors to occur               in recognition as well as recall, and will determine whether                    blend errors occur more frequently when the different experiences               to be combined complement, rather than conflict, with each other.               These experiments will help clarify when and how the mechanisms                 of memory can give rise to errors that could invalidate                         eyewitness testimony.                                                                                                                                           From a PDP perspective, learning language is not a matter of                    learning a system of linguistic rules per se; rather, it is a                   matter of adjusting connection strengths among units.  The second               part of the project will examine whether this view is consistent                with children's acquisition of one aspect of language, namely the               use of inflected forms of verbs (e.g., the past tense).  This                   part of the project will attempt to develop a revision of an                    earlier model of acquisition by connection strength adjustment                  and to use the model to account for errors that children make                   during acquisition.  This part of the project should help clarify               the nature of the mechanisms that underlie the acquisition of                   language.
{'FirstName': 'James', 'LastName': 'McClelland', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'L', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'James L McClelland', 'EmailAddress': 'jlmcc@stanford.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000086548', 'StartDate': '08/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Carnegie-Mellon University', 'CityName': 'PITTSBURGH', 'ZipCode': '152133815', 'PhoneNumber': '4122688746', 'StreetAddress': '5000 FORBES AVE', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Pennsylvania', 'StateCode': 'PA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '12', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'PA12', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'U3NKNFLNQ613', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': 'U3NKNFLNQ613'}
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{'Code': '118000', 'Text': 'HUMAN COGNITION & PERCEPTION'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8812048.xml'}