Work

Transition dynamics shape mental state concepts.

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: = 1,439), we tested whether the transition probabilities between mental states causally shape people's conceptual judgments of those states. In each study, we found that observing frequent transitions between mental states caused people to judge them to be conceptually similar. Computational modeling indicated that people translated mental state dynamics into concepts by embedding the states as points within a geometric space. The closer two states are within this space, the greater the likelihood of transitions between them. In three neural network experiments, we trained artificial neural networks to predict real human mental state dynamics. The networks spontaneously learned the same conceptual dimensions that people use to understand mental states. Together these results indicate that mental state dynamics-and the goal of predicting them-shape the structure of mental state concepts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology General

DOI: 10.1037/xge0001405

Authors: Mark A. Thornton, Milena Rmus, Amisha D. Vyas, Diana I. Tamir

Institutions: Dartmouth College, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University

Language: English

Topic: Categorization, perception, and language

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

Award: The structure and dynamics of mental state representations