Fei Xu Explained

Fei Xu
Native Name:徐绯
Native Name Lang:zh
Birth Place:Beijing, China
Nationality:American
Occupation:Professor of Psychology
Period:1995–present
Education:Ph.D. in Cognitive Science
Discipline:Psychologist
Doctoral Advisor:Susan Carey
Thesis Year:1995
Thesis Title:Criteria of Object Individual and Numerical Identity in Infants and Adults: The Object-first Hypothesis
Thesis Url:https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/11135

Fei Xu (; born 1969) is an American developmental psychologist and cognitive scientist who is currently a professor of psychology and the director of the Berkeley Early Learning Lab at UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on cognitive and language development, from infancy to middle childhood.

Early life

Xu was born and raised in Beijing, China, where she graduated from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.[1] She moved to the U.S. and attended Smith College, graduating in 1991 with a B.A. in Cognitive Science. She earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from M.I.T. in 1995.

Career

Xu began her career as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, and M.I.T. under Alan M. Leslie.[2] She joined Northeastern University as an assistant professor in 1997. In 2003, she moved to Vancouver to be an associate professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and was awarded the Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Science. She was a visiting professor at UC Berkeley in 2007–2008, then returned to UBC.[3] In 2009, she joined the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology as a Professor, where she is also the director of the school's Early Learning Lab.[4] [5] [6]

Research

Xu worked with several prominent developmental and cognitive psychologists early in her career. She worked with Susan Carey for her Ph.D. research on object individuation, sortal concepts, and early word learning.[7] She worked with Elizabeth Spelke as a postdoctoral fellow, focusing on prelinguistic infants’ representation of numbers.[8] She also worked with Alan Leslie at Rutgers University on infants’ object concept.[9]

Inspired by a philosophical analysis of sortals/kind concepts, Xu developed a new method for studying how infants track objects over time and how they establish representations of multiple objects in an event (i.e., object individuation). She found that it is not until about 12 months of age that infants are able to use the differences between, for example, a toy duck and a ball to decide that there are two objects in an event, perhaps because infants did not represent the objects as belonging to two different kinds (i.e., duck and ball).[10] [11] [12] [13] Furthermore, learning words for object kinds may play a critical role in object individuation and the developmental of kind concepts.[14] [15] [16]

In another line of work, Xu investigated whether prelinguistic infants can estimate numbers. She found that 6-month-old infants can discriminate between an array of 8 dots and 16 dots, but not between an array of 8 dots and 12 dots. That is, infants have a number sense, like many other non-human animals. The number sense is a number estimation system that is evolutionarily old and is distinct from our verbal counting system.[17] [18] [19]

Xu’s lab has also published research on early inductive learning mechanisms. They found that 6-, 8-, and 11-month-old infants have a rudimentary understanding of probability, and they can use this understanding to make inferences about the physical and psychological world. When an infant is shown an experimenter (with her eyes closed) randomly picking 4 red and 1 white ping-pong balls from a box, infants infer that the box must contain a majority of red ping-pong balls and a minority of white ping-pong balls.[20] [21]

Taking an interdisciplinary, cognitive science approach to the study of learning and development, Xu and her collaborators have developed computational models – Bayesian probabilistic models – on word learning, object perception, preference attribution, question-asking, infants' surprise, and hypothesis generation.[22] [23] [24] [25] [26]

Beginning in the 2010s, Xu advocated for a new approach to the study of cognitive development, namely rational constructivism.[27] She argued that human infants begin life with a set of proto-conceptual primitives such as object, number, and agent, and as young learners acquire language, these initial representations are transformed into a format that is compatible with language and propositional thought. She suggested that three types of learning mechanisms explain both belief revision and genuine conceptual change: (1) Language and symbol learning; (2) Bayesian inductive learning; and (3) Constructive thinking. She also suggests that infants and young children are active learners, and cognitive agency is part and parcel of development. In addition, she has explored the implications of rational constructivism for philosophy of mind and epistemology.

Awards

Selected bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fei Xu . Berkeley Early Learning Lab . March 15, 2021.
  2. Web site: Lab Members – Cognitive Development Laboratory. 2021-03-24. sites.rutgers.edu.
  3. Web site: ProActive Disclosure for the Canada Research Chairs (2009) / Divulgation proactive des chaires de recherche du Canada (2009) . . September 26, 2011 . March 18, 2021.
  4. Web site: Scientists tap the genius of babies and youngsters to make computers smarter . . March 12, 2012 . March 18, 2021 . Anwar . Yasmin.
  5. Web site: Smilables' Baby Brain Development System To Aid New Parents Draws On Scientific Expertise From Top Universities . . July 29, 2015 . March 22, 2021 . Smilables Inc..
  6. Web site: Lab Manager Position at the Berkeley Early Learning Lab . . 2021-03-22 . 2021-03-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322202423/https://psychandneuro.duke.edu/lab-manager-position-berkeley-early-learning-lab . dead .
  7. Criteria of Object Individual and Numerical Identity in Infants and Adults: The Object-first Hypothesis . . 1995 . March 16, 2021 . Xu . Fei. 1721.1/11135 . Thesis .
  8. Large number discrimination in 6-month-old infants . 10.1016/S0010-0277(99)00066-9 . . January 10, 2000 . March 18, 2021 . Xu . Fei . Spelke . Elizabeth S. . Elizabeth Spelke . 74 . 1 . B1–B11. 10594312 . 12185314 .
  9. Indexing and the object concept: developing 'what' and 'where' systems . . January 1, 1998 . March 18, 2021 . Leslie . Alan M. . Alan Leslie . Xu . Fei . Tremoulet . Patrice D. . Scholl . Brian J. . 10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01113-3 . 2 . 1 . 10–18. 21244957 . 8612552 .
  10. From Lot's Wife to a Pillar of Salt: Evidence that Physical Object is a Sortal Concept . 1997 . 12 . 3–4 . 365–392 . . Xu . Fei . 10.1111/j.1468-0017.1997.tb00078.x.
  11. Sortal concepts, object individuation, and language . . September 2007 . 11 . 9 . 400–406 . Xu . Fei . 10.1016/j.tics.2007.08.002 . 17698404. 2058140 .
  12. Infants' Metaphysics: The Case of Numerical Identity . . April 1996 . 30 . 2 . 111–153 . 10.1006/cogp.1996.0005 . Xu . Fei . Carey . Susan . Susan Carey . 8635312. 1756983 .
  13. The emergence of kind-based object individuation in infancy . Cognitive Psychology . September 2004 . 155–190 . 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2004.01.001 . Xu . Fei . Carey . Susan . Susan Carey . Quint . Nina . 49 . 2 . 15304370. 14560401 .
  14. Do early nouns refer to kinds or distinct shapes? Evidence from 10-month-old infants . . February 2009 . 20 . 2 . 252–257 . 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02278.x . Dewar . Kathryn . Xu . Fei . 19175526. 29859477 .
  15. The role of language in acquiring object kind concepts in infancy . . October 2002 . 85 . 3 . 223–250 . 10.1016/s0010-0277(02)00109-9 . Xu . Fei . 12169410. 7820397 .
  16. Labeling guides object individuation in 12-month-old infants . . May 2005 . 16 . 5 . 372–377 . 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01543.x . Xu . Fei . Cote . Melissa . Baker . Allison . 15869696. 22705130 .
  17. Numerosity discrimination in infants: evidence for two systems of representations . . August 2003 . 89 . 1 . B15–B25 . 10.1016/s0010-0277(03)00050-7 . Xu . Fei . 12893126. 10728486 .
  18. Large number discrimination in 6-month-old infants . . January 10, 2000 . 74 . 1 . B1–B11 . 10.1016/s0010-0277(99)00066-9 . Xu . Spelke . Elizabeth S. . Elizabeth Spelke . 10594312. 12185314 .
  19. Number sense in human infants . . January 2005 . 8 . 1 . 88–101 . 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00395.x . Xu . Fei . Spelke . Elizabeth S. . Elizabeth Spelke . Goddard . Sydney . 15647069.
  20. Infant Statisticians: The Origins of Reasoning Under Uncertainty . . July 2019 . 14 . 4 . 499–509 . 10.1177/1745691619847201 . Denison . Stephanie . Xu . Fei . 31185184. 186203667 .
  21. Intuitive statistics by 8-month-old infants . . April 1, 2008 . 105 . 13 . 5012–5015 . 10.1073/pnas.0704450105 . Xu . Fei . Garcia . Vashti . 18378901 . 2278207 . free .
  22. Word learning as Bayesian inference . . April 2007 . 114 . 2 . 245–272 . 10.1037/0033-295X.114.2.245 . Xu . Fei . Tenenbaum . Joshua B. . Joshua Tenenbaum . 17500627.
  23. Book: Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 21 (NIPS 2008) . 9781605609492 . An ideal observer model of infant object perception . 2008 . 825–832 . Kemp . Charles . Xu . Fei . Curran . Koller . D. . Schuurmans . D. . Bengio . Y. . Bottou . L..
  24. The child as econometrician: a rational model of preference understanding in children . . March 25, 2014 . 9 . 3 . e92160 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0092160 . Lucas . Christopher G. . Griffiths . Thomas L. . Tom Griffiths (cognitive scientist) . Xu . Fei . Fawcett . Christine . Gopnik . Alison . Alison Gopnik . Kushnir . Tamar . Markson . Lori . Hu . Jane . 24667309 . 3965422 . 2014PLoSO...992160L . free .
  25. A tutorial introduction to Bayesian models of cognitive development . . September 2011 . 120 . 3 . 302–321 . 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.11.015 . Perfors . Amy . Tenenbaum . Joshua B. . Joshua Tenenbaum . Griffiths . Thomas L. . Xu . Fei . 21269608. 7105260 . 1721.1/98835 . free .
  26. Another Look at Looking Time: Surprise as Rational Statistical Inference . . January 2019 . 11 . 1 . 154–163 . 10.1111/tops.12393 . Sim . Zi L. . Xu . Fei . 30411516. 53242636 . free .
  27. Web site: Towards a rational constructivist approach to cognitive development . . March 31, 2014 . March 18, 2021 . UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture . Xu . Fei . Video .
  28. Web site: Prizes . . November 13, 2019 . March 18, 2021.
  29. Web site: Fei Xu . . March 15, 2021.
  30. 2020-01-29. APS Fellows Elected to SEP. APS Observer. en-US. 33. 2.
  31. Web site: 2020 Editorial Team. 2021-03-24. Association for Psychological Science - APS. en-US.
  32. Web site: Five APS Fellows Elected to Society of Experimental Psychologists. 2021-03-24. Association for Psychological Science - APS. en-US.
  33. Book: Rational Constructivism in Cognitive Development . Advances in Child Development and Behavior . 43 . . . 2012 . 978-0-12-397919-3 . Xu . Fei . Kushnir . Tamar . Benson . Janette B..
  34. Infants are rational constructive learners . . February 1, 2013 . March 15, 2021 . Xu . Fei . Kushnir . Tamar . 10.1177/0963721412469396 . 22 . 1 . 28–32. 52994806 .
  35. Book: Xu, Fei. Core knowledge and concept change . Preliminary thoughts on a rational constructivist approach to cognitive development: primitives, symbols, learning, and thinking . Barner . David . Baron . Andrew Scott . 2016 . . 2016014527 . 9780190467630 . New York, New York . 11–28 .
  36. The Epistemology of Rational Constructivism. 10.1007/s13164-017-0372-1 . Fedyk . Mark . Xu . Fei . . November 27, 2017 . March 15, 2021 . 9 . June 2018 . 343–362. 53641572 .
  37. Xu . Fei . Towards a rational constructivist theory of cognitive development . 2019 . . 126 . 6 . 841–864 . 10.1037/rev0000153 . 31180701 . free .
  38. Denison . Stephanie . Xu . Fei . . Infant Statisticians: The Origins of Reasoning Under Uncertainty . 10.1177/1745691619847201 . June 11, 2019 . 14 . 4 . 499–509 . 31185184 . 186203667 . March 15, 2021.

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