Vygotskian Autotelic Artificial Intelligence

This list of 39 papers contains inter-disciplinary background research on the subject of Vygotskian Autotelic AI.

Artificial Intelligence: 8 Papers

From Embodied to Socially Embedded Agents---Implications for Interaction-Aware Robots
Authors:
Dautenhahn K, Ogden B, Quick T
Abstract:
First, this article proposes a minimal definition of embodiment that can be applied across animals and artefacts. We discuss the potential contributions of this operational definition with respect to assessing and measuring the degree of embodiment in different biological and artificial systems. Second, we outline how this definition can be extended to lead to the particular notion of social embeddedness. Socially embedded agents are structurally coupled with their social environment, in that their sensorimotor activity is grounded in the social environment that the agent is surrounded by. Lastly, based on research in the social sciences on human--human interaction, we discuss perceptual requirements for interaction-aware robotic agents---agents whose identification and interpretation of the (social) environment is facilitated by awareness of the structure of agent--agent interactions (including humans in the loop'). We suggest relevant concepts and heuristics that can contribute to studies of degrees of embodiment of robots that interact with social environments. Manipulating and systematically investigating these heuristics permits variation of the degree of embodiment of such interaction-aware robots.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{dautenhahn2002embodied,
  title={From embodied to socially embedded agents--implications for interaction-aware robots},
  author={Dautenhahn, Kerstin and Ogden, Bernard and Quick, Tom},
  journal={Cognitive Systems Research},
  volume={3},
  number={3},
  pages={397--428},
  year={2002},
  publisher={Elsevier}
}
```
Getting to Know Each Other---Artificial Social Intelligence for Autonomous Robots
Authors:
Dautenhahn K
Abstract:
This paper proposes a research direction to study the development of 'artificial social intelligence' of autonomous robots which should result in 'individualized robot societies'. The approach is highly inspired by the 'social intelligence hypothesis', derived from the investigation of primate societies, suggesting that primate intelligence originally evolved to solve social problems and was only later extended to problems outside the social domain. We suggest that it might be a general principle in the evolution of intelligence, applicable to both natural and artificial systems. Arguments are presented why the investigation of social intelligence for artifacts is not only an interesting research issue for the study of biological principles, but may be a necessary prerequisite for those scenarios in which autonomous robots are integrated into human societies, interacting and communicating both with humans and with each other. As a starting point to study experimentally the development of robots' 'social relationships', the investigation of collection and use of body images by means of imitation is proposed. A specific experimental setup which we use to test the theoretical considerations is described. The paper outlines in what kind of applications and for what kind of robot group structures social intelligence might be advantageous.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{dautenhahn1995getting,
  title={Getting to know each other—artificial social intelligence for autonomous robots},
  author={Dautenhahn, Kerstin},
  journal={Robotics and autonomous systems},
  volume={16},
  number={2-4},
  pages={333--356},
  year={1995},
  publisher={Elsevier}
}
```
Language as a Cognitive Tool
Authors:
Mirolli M, Parisi D
Abstract:
The standard view of classical cognitive science stated that cognition consists in the manipulation of language-like structures according to formal rules. Since cognition is linguistic in itself, according to this view language is just a complex communication system and does not influence cognitive processes in any substantial way. This view has been criticized from several perspectives and a new framework (Embodied Cognition) has emerged that considers cognitive processes as non-symbolic and heavily dependent on the dynamical interactions between the cognitive system and its environment. But notwithstanding the successes of the embodied cognitive science in explaining low-level cognitive behaviors, it is still not clear whether and how it can scale up for explaining high-level cognition. In this paper we argue that this can be done by considering the role of language as a cognitive tool: i.e. how language transforms basic cognitive functions in the highlevel functions that are characteristic of human cognition. In order to do that, we review some computational models that substantiate this view with respect to categorization and memory. Since these models are based on a very rudimentary form of non-syntactic language, we argue that the use of language as a cognitive tool might have been an early discovery in hominid evolution, and might have played a substantial role in the evolution of language itself.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{mirolli2009language,
  title={Language as a cognitive tool},
  author={Mirolli, Marco and Parisi, Domenico},
  journal={Minds and machines},
  volume={19},
  number={4},
  pages={517--528},
  year={2009},
  publisher={Springer}
}
```
Reinforcement Learning Approaches in Social Robotics
Authors:
Akalin N, Loutfi A
Abstract:
This article surveys reinforcement learning approaches in social robotics. Reinforcement learning is a framework for decision-making problems in which an agent interacts through trial-and-error with its environment to discover an optimal behavior. Since interaction is a key component in both reinforcement learning and social robotics, it can be a well-suited approach for real-world interactions with physically embodied social robots. The scope of the paper is focused particularly on studies that include social physical robots and real-world human-robot interactions with users. We present a thorough analysis of reinforcement learning approaches in social robotics. In addition to a survey, we categorize existent reinforcement learning approaches based on the used method and the design of the reward mechanisms. Moreover, since communication capability is a prominent feature of social robots, we discuss and group the papers based on the communication medium used for reward formulation. Considering the importance of designing the reward function, we also provide a categorization of the papers based on the nature of the reward. This categorization includes three major themes: interactive reinforcement learning, intrinsically motivated methods, and task performance-driven methods. The benefits and challenges of reinforcement learning in social robotics, evaluation methods of the papers regarding whether or not they use subjective and algorithmic measures, a discussion in the view of real-world reinforcement learning challenges and proposed solutions, the points that remain to be explored, including the approaches that have thus far received less attention is also given in the paper. Thus, this paper aims to become a starting point for researchers interested in using and applying reinforcement learning methods in this particular research field.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{akalin2021reinforcement,
  title={Reinforcement learning approaches in social robotics},
  author={Akalin, Neziha and Loutfi, Amy},
  journal={Sensors},
  volume={21},
  number={4},
  pages={1292},
  year={2021},
  publisher={MDPI}
}
```

Sequential Thought Processes in Pdp Models

Authors:

Rumelhart DE, Smolensky P, McClelland JL, Hinton G

Bibtex:

@article{rumelhart1986sequential,
  title={Sequential thought processes in PDP models},
  author={Rumelhart, David E and Smolensky, Paul and McClelland, James L and Hinton, G},
  journal={Parallel distributed processing: explorations in the microstructures of cognition},
  volume={2},
  pages={3--57},
  year={1986}
}

Social Situatedness of Natural and Artificial Intelligence: Vygotsky and Beyond
Authors:
Lindblom J, Ziemke T
Abstract:
The concept of 'social situatedness,' that is, the idea that the development of individual intelligence requires a social (and cultural) embedding, has recently received much attention in cognitive science and artificial intelligence research, in particular work on social or epigenetic robotics. The work of Lev Vygotsky, who put forward this view as early as the 1920s, has influenced the discussion to some degree but still remains far from well known. This article therefore is aimed at giving an overview of his cognitive development theory and a discussion of its relation to more recent work in primatology and socially situated artificial intelligence, in particular humanoid robotics.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{lindblom2003social,
  title={Social situatedness of natural and artificial intelligence: Vygotsky and beyond},
  author={Lindblom, Jessica and Ziemke, Tom},
  journal={Adaptive Behavior},
  volume={11},
  number={2},
  pages={79--96},
  year={2003},
  publisher={SAGE Publications}
}
```
Studying Robot Social Cognition Within a Developmental Psychology Framework
Authors:
Dautenhahn K, Billard A
Abstract:
The paper discusses two prominent theories of cognitive development and relates them to experiments in social robotics. The main difference between these theories lies in the different views on the relationship between a child and its social environment: a) the child as a solitary thinker (Piaget) and b) the child in society (Vygotsky). We discuss the implications this has on the design of socially intelligent agents, focusing on robotic agents. We argue that the framework proposed by Vygotsky provides a promising research direction in autonomous agents. We give examples of implementations in the area of social robotics which support our theoretical considerations. More specifically, we demonstrate how a teacher-learner setup can be used to teach a robot a proto-language. The same control architecture is also used for a humanoid doll robot which can interact with a human by imitation. Another experiment addresses dynamic coupling of movements between a human and a mobile robot. Here, emergent robot-human interaction dynamics are influenced by the temporal coordination between the robot's and the human's movements.
Bibtex:
```
@inproceedings{dautenhahn1999studying,
  title={Studying robot social cognition within a developmental psychology framework},
  author={Dautenhahn, Kerstin and Billard, Aude},
  booktitle={1999 Third European Workshop on Advanced Mobile Robots (Eurobot'99). Proceedings (Cat. No. 99EX355)},
  pages={187--194},
  year={1999},
  organization={IEEE}
}
```
The Epigenesis of Meaning in Human Beings, and Possibly in Robots
Authors:
Zlatev J
Abstract:
This article addresses a classical question: Can a machine use language meaningfully and if so, how can this be achieved? The first part of the paper is mainly philosophical. Since meaning implies intentionality on the part of the language user, artificial systems which obviously lack intentionality will be `meaningless' (pace e.g. Dennett). There is, however, no good reason to assume that intentionality is an exclusively biological property (pace e.g. Searle) and thus a robot with bodily structures, interaction patterns and development similar to those of human beings would constitute a system possibly capable of meaning---a conjecture supported through a Wittgenstein-inspired thought experiment. The second part of the paper focuses on the empirical and constructive questions. Departing from the principle of epigenesis stating that during every state of development new structure arises on the basis of existing structure plus various sorts of interaction, a model of human cognitive and linguistic development is proposed according to which physical, social and linguistic interactions between the individual and the environment have their respective peaks in three consecutive stages of development: episodic, mimetic and symbolic. The transitions between these stages are qualitative, and bear a similarity to the stages in phylogenesis proposed by Donald (1991) and Deacon (1997). Following the principle of epigenetic development, robotogenesis could possibly recapitulate ontogenesis, leading to the emergence of intentionality, consciousness and meaning.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{zlatev2001epigenesis,
  title={The epigenesis of meaning in human beings, and possibly in robots},
  author={Zlatev, Jordan},
  journal={Minds and machines},
  volume={11},
  number={2},
  pages={155--195},
  year={2001},
  publisher={Springer}
}
```

Linguistics: 6 Papers

Carving Nature at Its Joints and Carving Joints into Nature: How Labels Augment Category Representations
Authors:
Lupyan G
Abstract:
Using words to label categories is a true human universal. In addition to their public function in communication, labels may also serve private functions in shaping how concepts are represented. The present work explored the effects of assigning category labels on perceptual representations. A connectionist simulation is presented that examines the effects of labels on learning different types of categories. It is found that labels can augment perceptual information, and play an especially important role in shaping representations of entities whose perceptual features alone are insufficient for reliable classification.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@incollection{lupyan2005carving,
  title={Carving nature at its joints and carving joints into nature: How labels augment category representations},
  author={Lupyan, Gary},
  booktitle={Modeling Language, Cognition And Action},
  pages={87--96},
  year={2005},
  publisher={World Scientific}
}
```
Construction Grammar and Creativity: Evolution, Psychology, and Cognitive Science
Authors:
Hoffmann T
Abstract:
Creativity is an important evolutionary adaptation that allows humans to think original thoughts, to find solutions to problems that have never been encountered before, and to fundamentally change the way we live. Recently, one important area of creativity, namely verbal creativity, has attracted considerable interest from constructionist approaches to language. The present issue builds on this emerging field of study and adds an interdisciplinary perspective to it by also presenting the view from cognitive literary studies as well as psychology. First, however, this introduction surveys the recent issues arising in constructionist studies of verbal creativity.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{hoffmann2020construction,
  title={Construction grammar and creativity: Evolution, psychology, and cognitive science},
  author={Hoffmann, Thomas},
  journal={Cognitive semiotics},
  volume={13},
  number={1},
  year={2020},
  publisher={De Gruyter Mouton}
}
```
Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf
Authors:
Whorf BL
Abstract:
The pioneering linguist Benjamin Whorf (1897--1941) grasped the relationship between human language and human thinking: how language can shape our innermost thoughts. His basic thesis is that our perception of the world and our ways of thinking about it are deeply influenced by the structure of the languages we speak. The writings collected in this volume include important papers on the Maya, Hopi, and Shawnee languages as well as more general reflections on language and meaning.
Bibtex:
```
@article{whorf1956language,
  title={Language, thought, and reality: selected writings of….(Edited by John B. Carroll.).},
  author={Whorf, Benjamin Lee},
  year={1956},
  publisher={Technology Press of MIT}
}
```
Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning
Authors:
Bergen BK
Abstract:
Whether it's brusque, convincing, fraught with emotion, or dripping with innuendo, language is fundamentally a tool for conveying meaning--- a uniquely human magic trick in which you vibrate your vocal cords to make your innermost thoughts pop up in someone else's mind. You can use it to talk about all sorts of things---from your new labradoodle puppy to the expansive gardens at Versailles, from Roger Federer's backhand to things that don't exist at all, like flying pigs. And when you talk, your listener fills in lots of details you didn't mention---the curliness of the dog's fur or the vast statuary on the grounds of the French palace. What's the trick behind this magic? How does meaning work?In Louder than Words, cognitive scientist Benjamin Bergen draws together a decade's worth of research in psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to offer a new theory of how our minds make meaning. When we hear words and sentences, Bergen contends, we engage the parts of our brain that we use for perception and action, repurposing these evolutionarily older networks to create simulations in our minds. These embodied simulations, as they're called, are what makes it possible for us to become better baseball players by merely visualizing a well-executed swing; what allows us to remember which cupboard the diapers are in without looking, and what makes it so hard to talk on a cell phone while we're driving on the highway. Meaning is more than just knowing definitions of words, as others have previously argued. In understanding language, our brains engage in a creative process of constructing rich mental worlds in which we see, hear, feel, and act.Through whimsical examples and ingenious experiments, Bergen leads us on a virtual tour of the new science of embodied cognition. A brilliant account of our human capacity to understand language, Louder than Words will profoundly change how you read, speak, and listen.
Bibtex:
```
@book{bergen2012louder,
  title={Louder than words: The new science of how the mind makes meaning},
  author={Bergen, Benjamin K},
  year={2012},
  publisher={Basic Books}
}
```
Metaphors We Live By
Authors:
Lakoff G, Johnson M
Abstract:
The now-classic Metaphors We Live By changed our understanding of metaphor and its role in language and the mind. Metaphor, the authors explain, is a fundamental mechanism of mind, one that allows us to use what we know about our physical and social experience to provide understanding of countless other subjects. Because such metaphors structure our most basic understandings of our experience, they are 'metaphors we live by'---metaphors that can shape our perceptions and actions without our ever noticing them.
Bibtex:
```
@book{lakoff2008metaphors,
  title={Metaphors we live by},
  author={Lakoff, George and Johnson, Mark},
  year={2008},
  publisher={University of Chicago press}
}
```
What Do Words Do? Toward a Theory of Language-Augmented Thought
Authors:
Lupyan G
Abstract:
Much of human communication Involves language---a system of communication qualitatively different from those used by other animals. In this chapter, I focus on a fundamental property of language: referring to objects with labels (e.g., using the word "chair" to refer to a chair). What consequences does such labeling have on cognitive and perceptual processes? 1 review evidence indicating that verbal labels do not simply point or refer to nonlinguistic concepts, but rather actively modulate object representations that are brought on-line during "nonverbal" tasks. Using words to refer to concrete objects affects the learning of new categories, memory for and reasoning about familiar object categories, and even basic visual processing. Object representations activated by verbal means appear to be different, and specifically, more categorical, than ostensibly the same object representations activated by nonverbal means. A connectionist model of "language augmented thought" provides a computational account of how labels may augment cognitive and perceptual processing.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@incollection{lupyan2012words,
  title={What do words do? Toward a theory of language-augmented thought},
  author={Lupyan, Gary},
  booktitle={Psychology of learning and motivation},
  volume={57},
  pages={255--297},
  year={2012},
  publisher={Elsevier}
}
```

Philosophy: 10 Papers

Consciousness Explained

Authors:

Dennett DC

Bibtex:

@book{dennett1993consciousness,
  title={Consciousness explained},
  author={Dennett, Daniel C},
  year={1993},
  publisher={Penguin uk}
}

Language as a Disruptive Technology: Abstract Concepts, Embodiment and the Flexible Mind
Authors:
Dove G
Abstract:
A growing body of evidence suggests that cognition is embodied and grounded. Abstract concepts, though, remain a significant theoretical challenge. A number of researchers have proposed that language makes an important contribution to our capacity to acquire and employ concepts, particularly abstract ones. In this essay, I critically examine this suggestion and ultimately defend a version of it. I argue that a successful account of how language augments cognition should emphasize its symbolic properties and incorporate a view of embodiment that recognizes the flexible, multimodal and task-related nature of action, emotion and perception systems. On this view, language is an ontogenetically disruptive cognitive technology that expands our conceptual reach. This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{dove2018language,
  title={Language as a disruptive technology: abstract concepts, embodiment and the flexible mind},
  author={Dove, Guy},
  journal={Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences},
  volume={373},
  number={1752},
  pages={20170135},
  year={2018},
  publisher={The Royal Society}
}
```
Language, Embodiment, and the Cognitive Niche
Authors:
Clark A
Abstract:
Embodied agents use bodily actions and environmental interventions to make the world a better place to think in. Where does language fit into this emerging picture of the embodied, ecologically efficient agent? One useful way to approach this question is to consider language itself as a cognition-enhancing animal-built structure. To take this perspective is to view language as a kind of self-constructed cognitive niche: a persisting but never stationary material scaffolding whose crucial role in promoting thought and reason remains surprisingly poorly understood. It is the very materiality of this linguistic scaffolding, I suggest, that gives it some key benefits. By materializing thought in words, we create structures that are themselves proper objects of perception, manipulation, and (further) thought.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{clark2006language,
  title={Language, embodiment, and the cognitive niche},
  author={Clark, Andy},
  journal={Trends in cognitive sciences},
  volume={10},
  number={8},
  pages={370--374},
  year={2006},
  publisher={Elsevier}
}
```

Magic Words: How Language Augments Human Computation

Authors:

Clark A

Bibtex:

@incollection{clark2012magic,
  title={Magic words: how language augments hum an computation},
  author={Clark, Andy and Toribio, Josefa},
  booktitle={Language and Meaning in Cognitive Science},
  pages={33--51},
  year={2012},
  publisher={Routledge}
}

Mind and World

Authors:

McDowell J

Bibtex:

@book{mcdowell1996mind,
  title={Mind and world},
  author={McDowell, John},
  year={1996},
  publisher={Harvard University Press}
}

Modularity, Language, and the Flexibility of Thought
Authors:
Carruthers P
Abstract:
This paper explores a variety of different versions of the thesis that natural language is involved in human thinking. It distinguishes amongst strong and weak forms of this thesis, dismissing some as implausibly strong and others as uninterestingly weak. Strong forms dismissed include the view that language is conceptually necessary for thought (endorsed by many philosophers) and the view that language is de facto the medium of all human conceptual thinking (endorsed by many philosophers and social scientists). Weak forms include the view that language is necessary for the acquisition of many human concepts and the view that language can serve to scaffold human thought processes. The paper also discusses the thesis that language may be the medium of conscious propositional thinking, but argues that this cannot be its most fundamental cognitive role. The idea is then proposed that natural language is the medium for nondomain-specific thinking, serving to integrate the outputs of a variety of domain-specific conceptual faculties (or central-cognitive 'quasimodules'). Recent experimental evidence in support of this idea is reviewed and the implications of the idea are discussed, especially for our conception of the architecture of human cognition. Finally, some further kinds of evidence which might serve to corroborate or refute the hypothesis are mentioned. The overall goal of the paper is to review a wide variety of accounts of the cognitive function of natural language, integrating a number of different kinds of evidence and theoretical consideration in order to propose and elaborate the most plausible candidate.
Bibtex:
```
@article{carruthers2002modularity,
  title={Modularity, language, and the flexibility of thought},
  author={Carruthers, Peter},
  journal={Behavioral and Brain Sciences},
  volume={25},
  number={6},
  pages={705},
  year={2002},
  publisher={Cambridge University Press}
}
```

Philosophical Investigations

Authors:

Wittgenstein L

Bibtex:

@book{wittgenstein2010philosophical,
  title={Philosophical investigations},
  author={Wittgenstein, Ludwig},
  year={2010},
  publisher={John Wiley \& Sons}
}

The Cognitive Claims of Metaphor

Authors:

Hesse M

Bibtex:

@article{hesse1988cognitive,
  title={The cognitive claims of metaphor},
  author={Hesse, Mary},
  journal={The journal of speculative philosophy},
  pages={1--16},
  year={1988},
  publisher={JSTOR}
}

The Language of Thought

Authors:

Fodor JA

Bibtex:

@book{fodor1975language,
  title={The language of thought},
  author={Fodor, Jerry A},
  volume={5},
  year={1975},
  publisher={Harvard university press}
}

Thinking in Language?: Evolution and a Modularist Possibility

Authors:

Carruthers P

Bibtex:

@incollection{carruthers1998thinking,
  title={Thinking in language?: evolution and a modularist possibility},
  author={Carruthers, Peter},
  year={1998},
  publisher={Cambridge University Press}
}

Psychology: 14 Papers

Analogy and Abstraction
Authors:
Gentner D, Hoyos C
Abstract:
A central question in human development is how young children gain knowledge so fast. We propose that analogical generalization drives much of this early learning and allows children to generate new abstractions from experience. In this paper, we review evidence for analogical generalization in both children and adults. We discuss how analogical processes interact with the child's changing knowledge base to predict the course of learning, from conservative to domain-general understanding. This line of research leads to challenges to existing assumptions about learning. It shows that (a) it is not enough to consider the distribution of examples given to learners; one must consider the processes learners are applying; (b) contrary to the general assumption, maximizing variability is not always the best route for maximizing generalization and transfer.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{gentner2017analogy,
  title={Analogy and abstraction},
  author={Gentner, Dedre and Hoyos, Christian},
  journal={Topics in cognitive science},
  volume={9},
  number={3},
  pages={672--693},
  year={2017},
  publisher={Wiley Online Library}
}
```
Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition
Authors:
Tomasello M
Abstract:
In this groundbreaking book, Tomasello presents a comprehensive usage-based theory of language acquisition. Drawing together a vast body of empirical research in cognitive science, linguistics, and developmental psychology, Tomasello demonstrates that we don't need a self-contained "language instinct" to explain how children learn language. Their linguistic ability is interwoven with other cognitive abilities.
Bibtex:
```
@book{gopnik1999scientist,
title={The scientist in the crib: Minds, brains, and how children learn.},
author={Gopnik, Alison and Meltzoff, Andrew N and Kuhl, Patricia K},
year={1999},
publisher={William Morrow \& Co}}
```

Inner Speech and Thought

Authors:

Sokolov A

Bibtex:

@book{sokolov2012inner,
  title={Inner speech and thought},
  author={Sokolov, Aleksandr},
  year={2012},
  publisher={Springer Science \& Business Media}
}

Language Evolution to Revolution: the Leap From Rich-Vocabulary Non-Recursive Communication System to Recursive Language 70,000 Years Ago Was Associated with Acquisition of a Novel Component of Imagination, Called Prefrontal Synthesis, Enabled By a Mutation that Slowed Down the Prefrontal Cortex Maturation Simultaneously in Two or More Children---the Romulus and Remus Hypothesis
Authors:
Vyshedskiy A
Abstract:
There is an overwhelming archeological and genetic evidence that modern speech apparatus was acquired by hominins by 600,000 years ago1. On the other hand, artifacts signifying modern imagination, such as (1) composite figurative arts, (2) bone needles with an eye, (3) construction of dwellings, and (4) elaborate burials arose not earlier than 70,000 years ago2. It remains unclear (1) why there was a long gap between acquisition of modern speech apparatus and modern imagination, (2) what triggered the acquisition of modern imagination 70,000 years ago, and (3) what role language might have played in this process. Our research into evolutionary origin of modern imagination has been driven by the observation of a temporal limit for the development of a particular component of imagination. Modern children not exposed to recursive language in early childhood never acquire the type of active constructive imagination called Prefrontal Synthesis (PFS). Unlike vocabulary and grammar acquisition, which can be learned throughout one's lifetime, there is a strong critical period for the development of PFS and individuals not exposed to recursive language in early childhood can never acquire PFS as adults. Their language will always lack understanding of spatial prepositions and recursion that depend on the PFS ability. In a similar manner, early hominins would not have been able to learn recursive language as adults and, therefore, would not be able to teach recursive language to their children. Thus, the existence of a strong critical period for PFS acquisition creates an evolutionary barrier for behavioral modernity. An evolutionary mathematical model suggests that a synergistic confluence of three events (1) a genetic mutation that extended the critical period by slowing down the prefrontal cortex development simultaneously in two or more children, (2) invention of recursive elements of language, such as spatial prepositions, by these children and (3) their dialogic communications using these recursive elements, resulted in concurrent conversion of a non-recursive communication system of their parents to recursive language and acquisition of PFS around 70,000 years ago.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{vyshedskiy2019language,
  title={Language evolution to revolution: the leap from rich-vocabulary non-recursive communication system to recursive language 70,000 years ago was associated with acquisition of a novel component of imagination, called Prefrontal Synthesis, enabled by a mutation that slowed down the prefrontal cortex maturation simultaneously in two or more children--the Romulus and Remus hypothesis},
  author={Vyshedskiy, Andrey},
  journal={bioRxiv},
  pages={166520},
  year={2019},
  publisher={Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}
}
```
Play and Its Role in the Mental Development of the Child
Authors:
Vygotsky LS
Abstract:
In speaking of play and its role in the preschooler's development, we are concerned with two fundamental questions: first, how play itself arises in development---its origin and genesis; second, the role of this developmental activity, which we call play, as a form of development in the child of preschool age. Is play the leading form of activity for a child of this age, or is it simply the predominant form?
Bibtex:
```
@article{vygotsky1967play,
  title={Play and its role in the mental development of the child},
  author={Vygotsky, Lev S},
  journal={Soviet psychology},
  volume={5},
  number={3},
  pages={6--18},
  year={1967},
  publisher={Taylor \& Francis}}
```
Relational Language and Relational Thought
Authors:
Gentner D, Loewenstein J
Abstract:
Human cognitive abilities are remarkable. We easily go beyond what is perceptually available to reason about abstract systems. Our cognitive ability to adapt to a vast range of environments, and even to alter our environment to suit our desires, has given our species so great an advantage over other mammals that we are now poised to exterminate most of our former predators, and must use our ingenuity to preserve a few. Indeed, for many theorists, the sophistication of adult human reasoning defies any explanation based on learning.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@incollection{gentner2002relational,
  title={Relational language and relational thought},
  author={Gentner, Dedre and Loewenstein, Jeffrey},
  booktitle={Language, literacy, and cognitive development},
  pages={101--138},
  year={2002},
  publisher={Psychology Press}
}
```
Sound Symbolism and Early Word Learning in Two Languages
Authors:
Yoshida H, Smith LB
Abstract:
Verb learning seems especially difficult for children learning many languages, at least relative to nouns. Many have speculated because this is because verbs refer to relational events that are components of much more complex events. Consider a buying-selling event. If the child hears the verb 'buy', does it mean sell, get, handover, give money, or perhaps smile? By this view, a key problem in learning verb is parsing complex events into relevant components and then attending to the right components. This study presents evidence that parents use sound symbolism to direct children's attention to the proper component and that children readily use that information when learning new verbs. The study specifically compares two languages that differ in their sound-symbolic words---Japanese language with its class of mimetics that are heavily used in speech to children and English language which is commonly considered to be a less sound symbolic language. The results indicate that both Japanese- and English-speaking parents use sound symbolism to teach verbs and that both children learning Japanese- and English benefit from this symbolism. This work provides new insight into verb learning, the nature of the input, and the universal aspects of sound symbolism in language use.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@inproceedings{yoshida2003sound,
  title={Sound symbolism and early word learning in two languages},
  author={Yoshida, Hanako and Smith, Linda B},
  booktitle={Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society},
  volume={25},
  number={25},
  year={2003}
}
```
The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition
Authors:
Tomasello M
Abstract:
Many current theories of human cognition stress its biological roots, while others stress its cultural roots. Tomasello demonstrates that both of these perspectives are essential in creating a unified account of the evolution, history, and development of human cognition. He makes a powerful case that while human cognition is biologically based, this biological adaptation's key contribution is that it permits the flowering of the cultural-historical and ontogenetic processes that have actually made the varieties of human cognition what they are today.
Bibtex:
```
@book{tomasello2009cultural,
  title={The cultural origins of human cognition},
  author={Tomasello, Michael},
  year={2009},
  publisher={Harvard university press}}
```

The Language and Thought of the Child

Authors:

Piaget J

Bibtex:

@book{piaget2005language,
title={Language and Thought of the Child: Selected Works vol 5},
author={Piaget, Jean},
year={2005},
publisher={Routledge}}

The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains, and How Children Learn
Authors:
Gopnik A, Meltzoff AN, Kuhl PK
Abstract:
This book combines two worlds---children and science---in an entirely unique way that yields exciting discoveries about both. The authors show that by the time children are three, they've solved problems that stumped Socrates with an agility computers still cannot match. This book explains just how, and how much, babies and young children know and learn, and how much parents naturally teach them. The book argues that evolution designed us to both teach and learn. Nurture is our nature, and the drive to learn is our most important instinct. The new science of children also reveals insights about adult capacities. The authors argue that even very young children---as well as adults---use some of the same methods that allow scientists to learn so much about the world.
Bibtex:
```
@book{gopnik1999scientist,
title={The scientist in the crib: Minds, brains, and how children learn.},
author={Gopnik, Alison and Meltzoff, Andrew N and Kuhl, Patricia K},
year={1999},
publisher={William Morrow \& Co}}
```
Thought and Language
Authors:
Vygotsky LS
Abstract:
Since it was introduced to the English-speaking world in 1962, Lev Vygotsky's highly original exploration of human mental development has become recognized as a classic foundational work of cognitive science. Vygotsky analyzes the relationship between words and consciousness, arguing that speech is social in its origins and that only as children develop does it become internalized verbal thought.
Bibtex:
```
@book{vygotsky2012thought,
  title={Thought and language},
  author={Vygotsky, Lev S},
  year={2012},
  publisher={MIT press}
}
```

Tool and Symbol in Child Development

Authors:

Vygotsky LS

Bibtex:

@article{vygotsky1994tool,
  title={Tool and symbol in child development},
  author={Vygotsky, Lev},
  journal={The vygotsky reader},
  year={1994},
  publisher={Blackwell}
}

Why Children Talk to Themselves
Authors:
Berk LE
Abstract:
If you could become the shadow of a 2- to 8-year-old, furtively tagging along as the child goes about his or her daily activities, you would notice a curious form of language behavior---remarks in which the child seems to talk to himself or herself or to no one in particular. This speech-to-self occurs frequently. It can surface in virtually any of the child's pursuits---during fantasy play, drawing and painting, building with blocks, tackling academic tasks, idly passing the time of day, and quieting down before naptime or nightly sleep. Researchers call this spontaneous, self-directed talk private speech. Unlike adults, who self-consciously talk to themselves only in solitary moments, young children freely use private speech in public. So at ease are preschool and primary-school children in speaking to themselves in front of others that on observing this behavior, many adults question its normalcy! 'Confused,' 'touched,' and 'strange' are among the descriptors I have heard them apply to self-talking children, generalizing from 'crazy people,' who not only speak aloud to fantasized audiences but also act improperly in a great many ways because they are indifferent to their social surroundings. To be sure, talking to oneself in the midst of a roomful of people is not acceptable in the adult social world. Yet all of us engage in private speech from time to time. And it is ubiquitous in early childhood. When children between the ages of 3 and 10 are observed in classrooms, private speech makes up as much as 20 percent to 60 percent of their language. Why do young children engage in it so frequently? To grasp the significance of private speech in the life of the child, let's begin by looking at it in ourselves. When are you most likely to talk out loud to yourself? In response to this question, most adults say they engage in audible self-talk when they face cognitive, emotional, or social challenges. Here are some self-reports: 'At the end of a busy day, when I'm tired and distracted, I sometimes find myself looking for an important document, for my keys, or even for where I parked my car.
Bibtex:
```
@article{berk1994children,
  title={Why children talk to themselves},
  author={Berk, Laura E},
  journal={Scientific American},
  volume={271},
  number={5},
  pages={78--83},
  year={1994},
  publisher={JSTOR}
}
```
Words as Invitations to Form Categories: Evidence from 12-to 13-Month-Old Infants
Authors:
Waxman SR, Markow DB
Abstract:
Recent research has documented specific linkages between language and conceptual organization in the developing child. However, most of the evidence for these linkages derives from children who have made significant linguistic and conceptual advances. We therefore focus on the emergence of one particular linkage--the noun-category linkage--in infants at the early stages of lexical acquisition. We propose that when infants embark upon the process of lexical acquisition, they are initially biased to interpret a word applied to an object as referring to that object and to other members of its kind. We further propose that this initial expectation will become increasingly specific over development, as infants begin to distinguish among the grammatical categories as they are marked in their native language and assign them more specific types of meaning. To test this hypothesis, we conducted three experiments using a modified novelty-preference paradigm to reveal whether and how novel words influence object categorization in 12- to 13-month old infants. The data reveal that a linkage between words and object categories emerges early enough to serve as a guide in infants' efforts to map words to meanings. Both nouns and adjectives focused infants' attention on object categories, particularly at the superordinate level. Further, infants' progress in early word learning was associated with their appreciation of this linkage between words and object categories. These results are interpreted within a developmental and cross-linguistic account of the emergence of linkages between linguistic and conceptual organization.
Bibtex:
```
@article{waxman1995words,
  title={Words as invitations to form categories: Evidence from 12-to 13-month-old infants},
  author={Waxman, Sandra R and Markow, Dana B},
  journal={Cognitive psychology},
  volume={29},
  number={3},
  pages={257--302},
  year={1995},
  publisher={Elsevier}
}
```

Social Sciences: 1 Papers

The Evolution of Cultural Evolution
Authors:
Henrich J, McElreath R
Abstract:
Humans are unique in their range of environments and in the nature and diversity of their behavioral adaptations. While a variety of local genetic adaptations exist within our species, it seems certain that the same basic genetic endowment produces arctic foraging, tropical horticulture, and desert pastoralism, a constellation that represents a greater range of subsistence behavior than the rest of the Primate Order combined. The behavioral adaptations that explain the immense success of our species are cultural in the sense that they are transmitted among individuals by social learning and have accumulated over generations. Understanding how and when such culturally evolved adaptations arise requires understanding of both the evolution of the psychological mechanisms that underlie human social learning and the evolutionary (population) dynamics of cultural systems.
Links:
- Paper
Bibtex:
```
@article{henrich2003evolution,
  title={The evolution of cultural evolution},
  author={Henrich, Joseph and McElreath, Richard},
  journal={Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews: Issues, News, and Reviews},
  volume={12},
  number={3},
  pages={123--135},
  year={2003},
  publisher={Wiley Online Library}
}
```

Artificial Intelligence: 8 Papers

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Linguistics: 6 Papers

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Philosophy: 10 Papers

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