The function of perceptual learning
Zoe Jenkin
Abstract
Abstract Our perceptual systems are not stagnant but can learn from experience. Why is this so? That is, what is the function of perceptual learning? I consider two answers to this question: The Offloading View, which says that the function of perceptual learning is to offload tasks from cognition onto perception, thereby freeing up cognitive resources (Connolly, 2019) and the Perceptual View, which says that the function of perceptual learning is to improve the functioning of perception. I argue that the Perceptual View better explains data from infants and animals, and better accounts for learned tasks that only perception could perform.
Topics & Concepts
PerceptionPerceptual learningFunction (biology)CognitionPsychologyCognitive psychologyCognitive sciencePerceptual systemBiologyEvolutionary biologyNeuroscienceNeural dynamics and brain functionFace Recognition and PerceptionChild and Animal Learning Development