{"pk":27742,"title":"Can Generic Neural Networks Estimate Numerosity Like Humans?","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Researchers exploring mathematical abilities have proposed\nthat humans and animals possess an approximate number\nsystem (ANS) that enables them to estimate numerosities in\nvisual displays. Experimental data shows that estimation\nresponses exhibit a constant coefficient of variation (CV: ratio\nof variability of the estimates to their mean) for numerosities\nlarger than four, and a constant CV has been taken as a\nsignature characteristic of the innate ANS. For numerosities up\nto four, however, humans often produce error-free responses,\nsuggesting the presence of estimation mechanisms distinct\nfrom the ANS specialized for this ‘subitizing range’. We\nexplored whether a constant CV might arise from learning in\ngeneric neural networks using widely-used neural network\nlearning procedures. We find that our networks exhibit a flat\nCV for numerosities larger than 4, but do not do so robustly for\nsmaller numerosities. Our findings are consistent with the idea\nthat estimation for numbers larger than 4 may not require innate\nspecialization for number, while also supporting the view that\na process different from the one we model may underlie\nestimation responses for the smallest numbers.","language":"eng","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[{"word":"Mathematical cognition"},{"word":"numerical cognition"},{"word":"Neural Networks"},{"word":"development"},{"word":"learning"}],"section":"Publication-based-Talks","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1fm93016","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Sharon","middle_name":"Y","last_name":"Chen","name_suffix":"","institution":"Columbia University","department":""},{"first_name":"Zhenglong","middle_name":"","last_name":"Zhou","name_suffix":"","institution":"John Hopkins University","department":""},{"first_name":"Mengting","middle_name":"","last_name":"Fang","name_suffix":"","institution":"Beijing Normal University","department":""},{"first_name":"James","middle_name":"L","last_name":"McClelland","name_suffix":"","institution":"Stanford University","department":""}],"date_submitted":null,"date_accepted":null,"date_published":"2018-01-01T18:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/27742/galley/17382/download/"}]}