Efficient coding explains the universal law of generalization in human perception

Science
Chris R Sims

Abstract

Perceptual generalization and discrimination are fundamental cognitive abilities. For example, if a bird eats a poisonous butterfly, it will learn to avoid preying on that species again by generalizing its past experience to new perceptual stimuli. In cognitive science, the "universal law of generalization" seeks to explain this ability and states that generalization between stimuli will follow an exponential function of their distance in "psychological space." Here, I challenge existing theoretical explanations for the universal law and offer an alternative account based on the principle of efficient coding. I show that the universal law emerges inevitably from any information processing system (whether biological or artificial) that minimizes the cost of perceptual error subject to constraints on the ability to process or transmit information.

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Citations

Apr 25, 2019·Journal of Neurophysiology·Claire ChambersKonrad Paul Kording
Mar 12, 2020·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Christopher J BatesRobert A Jacobs
Jul 4, 2019·Nature Communications·Duje TadinRandolph Blake
Sep 12, 2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Steven A Frank
Jun 27, 2019·Learning & Behavior·Jérémie Jozefowiez
May 8, 2020·Scientific Reports·Lauri KangassaloTuukka Ruotsalo
Dec 19, 2018·Nature Neuroscience·Rafael PolaníaChristian C Ruff
Sep 19, 2019·Science Robotics·Kathleen FitzsimonsTodd D Murphey
Sep 9, 2020·Nature Human Behaviour·Mark W SchurginTimothy F Brady
Aug 4, 2018·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·Derek K TracySukhwinder S Shergill
Sep 4, 2019·Journal of Vision·Robert A Jacobs, Chenliang Xu
Sep 25, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Shanshan QinYuhai Tu
Nov 27, 2019·ELife·Robert C Wilson, Anne Ge Collins
May 22, 2021·Cognitive Science·Marina Dubova, Robert L Goldstone
Jun 18, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Richard Futrell
Jul 21, 2021·Psychological Science·Jacob Feldman
Aug 18, 2021·Neuroscience Letters·Sangyoon Y Ko, Paul W Frankland

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