book announcement

[Thomas Shultz]

This book may be of interest to readers of Connectionists

Computational Developmental Psychology

by Thomas R. Shultz

Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003

$38     322 pages       ISBN 0-262-19483-X


Despite decades of scientific research, the core issues of child
development remain too complex to be explained by traditional verbal
theories. These issues include structure and transition, representation
and processing, innate and experiential determinants of development, and
stages of development. This book shows how computational modeling can be
used to capture these complex phenomena, and lays the foundation for a
new subfield of developmental psychology, computational developmental
psychology.

The book compares rule-based and connectionist modeling, and features
constructivist models employing networks that evolve as well as learn.
This allows for qualitative changes in processing mechanisms and a way
to implement synaptogenesis and neurogenesis. The  appendices provide
additional background on the mathematical concepts used, and the book's
website contains easy-to-use computational packages.

Thomas R. Shultz is Professor of Psychology and Computer Science and
Director of the Laboratory of Natural and Simulated Cognition at McGill
University.



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Thomas Shultz, Professor, Department of Psychology
McGill University, 1205 Penfield Ave., Montreal, Quebec,=20
Canada H3A 1B1.
Associate Member, School of Computer Science
E-mail: thomas.shultz at mcgill.ca
Updated 20 February 2004:
http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/perpg/fac/shultz/personal/default.htm
Phone: 514 398-6139
Fax: 514 398-4896
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