Counterfactual Bayesian inference in the development of pre-reaching behaviour
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2019-01-01
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en
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Abstract
The development of reaching behaviour in infants starts just days after birth, and
generally follows a certain pattern of pre-reaching frequency which contains a notable
drop in frequency around 7 weeks of age. The developmental mechanisms underlying
this pattern vary, but a prominent theory is that the onset of muscle co-activation
in
uences developmental pre-reaching behaviour. Developmental robotics studies
are valuable in examining developmental theories' merits by reverse-engineering be-
havioural models from leading theories and observing resulting behaviour. The cur-
rent study aims to use developmental robotics to provide additional insight into the
muscle coactivation theory. The cognitive model used to represent processing of mo-
tor actions was realized as a counterfactual Bayesian agent, implementing a previously
untested method, counterfactual imaging, as its inference strategy. The viability of
the imaging procedure in cognitive modeling of motor control was evaluated based on
task performance. Due to complexity issues inherent in the imaging procedure, its
viability as a model for cognition was found to be limited. Even after inference sim-
pli cation, performance in motor tasks was low. As such, its e cacy was found to be
insu cient for it to be a viable method in modeling cognitive tasks. In
uence of the
onset of muscle coactivation was evaluated by comparing it to empirical results from
behavioural studies in developmental psychology. The behavioural e ects observed
in human infants were not replicated by the simulated infants implementing an onset
of muscle coactivation. Since imaging was found to be an insu cient model of mo-
tor control, the observed results currently only provide a preliminary indication that
muscle coactivation may not be the cause of observed behavioural patterns.
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen