William Kaye Estes: A Brief Perspective Report

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Introduction

William Kaye Estes was born on June 17, 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Estes is a scientist and a psychologist par excellence who has been credited with the creation of the mathematical learning theory which laid the foundations for the development of neural network in computer science as well as pioneering work on human intelligence. This essay examines the works of Estes and his contributions to the fields of psychology in specific.

Main body

In his seminal book “Studies in Mathematical Learning Theory” which he co-authored with two other scientists, Estes lays out a mathematical model for human intelligence. In his theory, Estes explains the different types of memory, the concepts of information processing and the developmental aspects of short term memory. Estes builds on the ‘Stimulus-Sample’ theory (Bush, Estes, & Anderson, 1959, p. 4) and holds that humans follow an iterative process of statistical learning in which every stimulus helps reinforce the learning. Estes presented his findings in the form of mathematical formulae that have since been used in the development of modern Artificial intelligence. According to him the rate of change in a human’s knowledge is equal to the product of their intelligence and the difference between their current level of knowledge and their studiousness. Estes presented his findings in the form of differential equation dk/dt+lk=λl, where knowledge k and studiousness λ are expressed as percentages, which has the solution k=λ(1-e^(-lt)), assuming that the human began with no knowledge of the subject. Estes postulated in an infinite time frame a human’s knowledge is equal only to their studiousness and that the intelligence l merely affects the rate at which his or her knowledge approaches that limit. This theory and research laid the foundations for the development of artificial intelligence and neural networking.

In the “Handbook of Learning and Cognitive Processes”, Estes concentrates on the intricacies of Human attention and memory. Estes observes that it was not enough for the science of psychobiology to study only human memory and that a genuine psychobiological approach to the study of memory required a study of animals also (Estes, 1976, p. 1). Estes ‘Stimulus-sampling’ theory’ gave rise to new approaches in exploring human learning. The ‘Theory of Disuse’ is an important extension of Estes’ original work. The theory gave the foundation for future works on memory storage and memory retrieval. Estes developed his model of human short term memory and was not satisfied with just an ‘associative’ explanation or coding concepts alone leading to the formulation of the ‘Perturbation model’. In the sixties, Estes turned his attention to ‘Visual information processing’ and contributed to the field of visual detection methods on brief displays of visual information.

Estes’ illustrious career stretches over sixty years and his pioneering efforts have literally kick started the mathematical approach to learning and its uses in development of artificial intelligence and neural network models. Estes’ work have helped nurture the science of mathematical psychology. Having studied under the legendary behavioral scientist B.F. Skinner, Estes was basically a behavioral scientist who applied his formidable mathematical expertise to psychology and explaining human intelligence in the form of mathematical formulae. The diverse range of his studies that cover a wide range of subjects from human memory, animal memory, and visual processing studies truly makes him one of the doyens of psychobiology.

Works Cited

Bush, R. R., Estes, W. K., & Anderson, N. H. (1959). Studies in Mathematical Learning Theory. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Estes, W. K. (1976). Attention and Memory. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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