Connectionist Models and Cognitive Theory

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Abstract
Connectionist models have come to play an important role in cognitive science and in cognitive neuroscience, yet their role in explaining behavior is not necessarily obvious and has generated considerable debate. Connectionism is a body of tools and ideas that can be used in different ways. It can be treated as a form of simulation modeling in which the goal is to implement preexisting theories. In this approach, connectionist models function as a kind of statistical tool, a way of analyzing a complex set of data. Connectionism can also be seen as providing a small set of general theoretical principles that apply in a variety of domains. Construed in this way, it contributes to the development of theories that are explanatory, not merely descriptive.