Theoretical and Computational Models of Word Learning

The process of learning words and languages may seem like an instinctual trait, inherent to nearly all humans from a young age. However, a vast range of complex research and information exists in detailing the complexities of the process of word learning. Theoretical and Computational Models of Word Learning: Trends in Psychology and Artificial Intelligence strives to combine cross-disciplinary research into one comprehensive volume to help readers gain a fuller understanding of the developmental processes and influences that makeup the progression of word learning. Blending together developmental psychology and artificial intelligence, this publication is intended for researchers, practitioners, and educators who are interested in language learning and its development as well as computational models formed from these specific areas of research.

Lakshmi Gogate is a developmental psychologist and an Associate Professor of Psychology at Florida Gulf Coast University. She received a Doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Rutgers University and a Masters in Linguistics from Michigan State University. She is the recipient of a Dissertation Research Award from the APA, a Deans Research Initiative award from the College of Medicine at SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, and a Senior Faculty Scholarship Excellence Award at Florida Gulf Coast University. Her research focuses on the perceptual origins of language development in term and preterm infants. In particular, she investigates the embodied organismic-environmental interactions that result in infants learning of names for objects and actions. Her research has been funded by the Thrasher Research Fund, The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and The National Science Foundation. Her papers include a theoretical model (with Hollich. G, Invariance detection within an interactive system: A perceptual gateway to language development, 2010, Psychological Review) and a computational model (with Prince, C.G & Matatyaho, D. Two-month-old infants sensitivity to changes in syllable-object pairings: The role of temporal synchrony, 2009, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance) of word learning.

George Hollich is an associate professor and the Director of the Infant Language Lab in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. He is the author of a Society for Research in Child Development Monograph on the Origins of Word Learning (co-written with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff, and a Psychological Review Article (co-authored with Lakshmi Gogate) that reveals the perceptual underpinnings of speech perception, word learning, and grammar. In recognition for his work in the areas of early language development and speech perception, Dr. Hollich was the recipient of the 2007 Boyd McCandless Award given by Division 7 of APA to recognize a young scientist who has made a distinguished contribution to the dissemination of developmental science. George was also presented the 2006 International Society on Infant Studies Distinguished Early Career Contribution Award. This award was given in recognition of significant new insights into early perception, cognition, and language acquisition. Also cited was the breadth of his work and the use of innovative technologies from multiple areas, including developmental and cognitive psychology, computer science and speech science.