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The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/19921 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation.
Author: Heijningen, C.A.A. van
Title: On the production and perception of syntactical regularities in zebra finches : experimenting with ABBA, ACDC and others
Issue Date: 2012-10-04
STELLINGEN behorende bij het proefschrift
‘On the production and perception of syntactic regularities in zebra finches:
Experimenting with ABBA, ACDC and others’
door C. A. A. van Heijningen
1) Natural zebra finch song contains heterogeneity in the relative distribution of
element types across 13 populations worldwide, but it contains relatively little structural constraints or rules in the order of the elements (This thesis).
2) Even though individual zebra finch song has a relatively stereotyped element order, zebra finches can perceive sequence differences (and generalize to new element types) suggesting that the underlying rule learning/detection mechanisms might be more sophisticated than what is revealed in their own song structure (This thesis).
3) An Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL) task need not show the maximum proficiency in rule learning, only what is sufficient to solve the task (c.f. Gerken 2006 and this thesis).
4) The use of probe tests in AGL studies has been neglected but is highly important to analyze which of a multitude of possible rules is the most likely one that is used by each individual (This thesis).
5) Similar to the variation in the level of intelligence in humans, the level of proficiency of non-human animals in cognitive tasks is likely to vary between individuals.
6) Operant- and classical conditioning were valuable concepts in the past, but they are now obsolete.
7) Scientific evidence for higher cognitive abilities in animals can be underestimated by experimental designs that lack an ecologically relevant context.
8) Cognition: many people understand what this word is referring to, but this does not mean that it is possible to give a short and concise definition.
9) Het privatiseren van nutsbedrijven zoals het openbaar vervoer en de zorg heeft alleen kans van slagen als de consument ook echt iets te kiezen heeft.
10) Nieuwsbrengers zijn soms ook nieuwsmakers door herhaaldelijk economen naar het zwartste scenario te vragen.
11) Als moeders zeggen dat het hun ‘eigen keuze’ is om minder te gaan werken, horen journalisten en wetenschappers door te vragen naar de achterliggende redenen in plaats van een punt te schrijven achter deze uitspraak (contra Stellinga 2009, http://degrensvoorbij.
groningerforum.nl/index.php?).
12) Helaas is ons collectieve geheugen korter dan de som der delen.
