Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Designing and Implementing Nervous System Simulations on LEGO Robots
Published on: May 25, 2013
Learning by thinking in natural and artificial minds
1Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
Abstract:
Canonical cases of learning involve novel observations external to the mind, but learning can also occur through mental processes such as explaining to oneself, mental simulation, analogical comparison, and reasoning. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) reveal that such learning is not restricted to human minds: artificial minds can also self-correct and arrive at new conclusions by engaging in processes of 'learning by thinking' (LbT). How can elements already in the mind generate new knowledge? This article aims to resolve this paradox, and in so doing highlights an important feature of natural and artificial minds - to navigate uncertain environments with variable goals, minds with limited resources must construct knowledge representations 'on demand'. LbT supports this construction.
Related Concept Videos
Natural and Artificial Concepts
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
Cognitive Learning
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Cognitivism
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
Purposive Learning

