Cue Competition Effects: Theoretical Implications for Adaptive Network Learning Models

Abstract

A feature-free method for testing adaptive network learning models is presented. The test is based on a property called the mean matching law, a. property shared by many adaptive network models of learning. As an application of this method, we prove that cue competition effects obtained with statistically independent cues cannot be explained by many previous adaptive network learning models, including those based on the delta learning rule. These results point to the need to incorporate competitive learning properties into adaptive network learning models.