Bayesian cognitive science, also known as computational cognitive science, is an approach to

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

concerned with the rational analysis of cognition through the use of

Bayesian inference Bayesian inference ( or ) is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to calculate a probability of a hypothesis, given prior evidence, and update it as more information becomes available. Fundamentally, Bayesian infer ...

and

cognitive model A cognitive model is a representation of one or more cognitive processes in humans or other animals for the purposes of comprehension and prediction. There are many types of cognitive models, and they can range from box-and-arrow diagrams to a se ...

ing. The term "computational" refers to the computational level of analysis as put forth by David Marr. This work often consists of testing the hypothesis that cognitive systems behave like rational Bayesian agents in particular types of tasks. Past work has applied this idea to

categorization Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identi ...

, language,

motor control Motor control is the regulation of movements in organisms that possess a nervous system. Motor control includes conscious voluntary movements, subconscious muscle memory and involuntary reflexes, as well as instinctual taxes. To control ...

, sequence learning,

reinforcement learning Reinforcement learning (RL) is an interdisciplinary area of machine learning and optimal control concerned with how an intelligent agent should take actions in a dynamic environment in order to maximize a reward signal. Reinforcement learnin ...

and

theory of mind In psychology and philosophy, theory of mind (often abbreviated to ToM) refers to the capacity to understand other individuals by ascribing mental states to them. A theory of mind includes the understanding that others' beliefs, desires, intent ...

. At other times, Bayesian rationality is ''assumed'', and the goal is to infer the knowledge that agents have, and the mental representations that they use. It is important to contrast this with the ordinary use of

in cognitive science, which is independent of rational modeling (see e.g
Michael Lee's work
.

See also

References

Further reading