Roger Stanton

Roger Stanton Explains the Significance of Category Learning

A professor and published author, Roger Stanton specializes in the study of cognitive psychology. In his research, Roger Stanton has explored human concept learning, attention, similarity and old-new recognition. This way, Roger Stanton continues to explore how human cognition functions in everyday actions.

Throughout his career, Roger Stanton has been particularly fascinated with human concept learning. Below, Roger Stanton describes how concept learning appears in our everyday lives.

Q: What is concept and category learning?

Roger Stanton: To some extent we use the terms concept and category interchangeably, but really a concept is a much broader class of thought. 

Roger Stanton Navigates Complexities of Cognitive Science

According to Roger Stanton, the field of cognitive science is fascinating for researchers who are interested in an all-encompassing area of study. Cognitive science, in the words of Roger Stanton, is the scientific study of the human brain across a number of research disciplines. Cognitive science spans several levels of analysis, from low-level learning to high-level logic. It contains elements of subjects such as anthropology, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, computer science and neuroscience. As a result, researchers can glean a well-rounded view of human learning and decision-making.

Throughout his career, Roger Stanton has been eager to explore the deep history of cognitive science and engage in greater understanding of this rich idiom. He points out that neuroscientist David Marr was a revolutionary figure in cognitive science and can be credited for advancing this area of study into the mainstream of educational research. Marr integrated a series of results from neurophysiology, artificial intelligence and psychology into new and enhanced models of visual processing. In the late 1960s, Marr developed a three-part hypothesis that now serves as the guiding principle in cognitive science. Under Marr’s hypothesis, the first level is computation, followed by representation and algorithm, and then implementation.

Q&A with Roger Stanton | Understanding Exemplar and Prototype Theories of Category Learning

Q: How integral are exemplar and prototype theories in the overall landscape of category learning?

Roger Stanton: Both exemplar and prototype theories are among the earliest and most influential theories explaining how people learn categories and then make certain categorizations. First of all, it’s important to define the term “concept” as an idea or mental image making it possible for items with common properties to be clustered together. This process is called categorization. Essentially, anytime that we assign a label to an object or an idea we are engaging in the act of categorization.

Roger Stanton on Cognitive Science Research and the Liberal Arts at St. Mary’s College

A professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Roger Stanton, uses his cognitive science laboratory to educate St. Mary’s College students in the discipline while staying true to the liberal arts curriculum.  According to Roger Stanton, the interdisciplinary nature of the field makes it a perfect fit for liberal arts institutions like St. Mary’s College of Maryland.  Although Roger Stanton is a professor in the psychology department at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, his research is based around a combination of the traditional cognitive science sub-fields, including mathematics, computer science, and neuroscience.  Research assistants in his laboratory at St. Mary’s College of Maryland have included students with majors in psychology, computer science, biology, and neuroscience.  By working on research projects with Roger Stanton, the St. Mary’s College research assistants developed an ability to design experiments using the methods of psychology, they learned computer programming and software applications for data analysis, and explored the mathematics of modeling cognitive processes.