Research
I am currently a second-year PhD student at UC Berkeley under the advising of Tom Griffiths in the Computational Cognitive Science lab. My research interests lie at the intersection of machine learning and computational models of cognition. In particular, I've been investigating how sequential Monte Carlo methods like particle filters can approximate Bayesian inference while also producing order effects consistent with human behavior. Most recently, I've been exploring formal relationships between psychological models and existing methods in machine learning to test theories on large databases of naturalistic stimuli.

In general, I am interested in bridging Marr's levels of analysis through building fast and flexible approximation algorithms inspired by psychological and neural mechanisms - known as rational process models. I'm also very curious about the role of time in learning; how temporal dependencies inform generalization. Some of my on-going interests from previous work include analyzing bottlenose dolphin vocalizations for evidence of syntactic structure and random combinatorics questions that pique my curiosity.

Resources
email: joshua.abbott AT berkeley.edu
current curriculum vitae

Papers
J.T. Abbott, T. Regier, and T.L. Griffiths. Predicting focal colors with a rational model of representativeness. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 2012.

J.T. Abbott, J.L. Austerweil, and T.L. Griffiths. Constructing a hypothesis space from the Web for large-scale Bayesian word learning. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 2012.

J.T. Abbott, K.A. Heller, Z. Ghahramani, and T.L. Griffiths. Testing a Bayesian measure of representativeness using a large image database. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 24, 2011.

J.T. Abbott and T.L. Griffiths. Exploring the influence of particle filter parameters on order effects in causal learning. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 2011.

J.T. Abbott. Relevance feedback and novelty detection under the Bayesian sets framework. Master's Thesis. University of Cambridge, 2010.

J.T. Abbott. Some generalizations on counting binary strings. Congressus Numerantium, Vol. 198, 2009.

J.T. Abbott. Temporal sequence analysis of bottlenose dolphin vocalizations. Undergraduate Thesis. New College of Florida, 2009.

J.T. Abbott and T. McGuire. Using graphs and games to generate cap set bounds. Congressus Numerantium, Vol. 189, 2008.

J.T. Abbott, P.Z. Chinn, T.J. Evans, and A.J. Stewart. Graph adjacency matrix automata. Congressus Numerantium Vol. 188, 2007.

Presentations
J.T. Abbott, T. Regier, and T.L. Griffiths. Predicting Focal Colors with a Rational Model of Representativeness. 34th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Sapporo, Japan. August, 2012.

J.T. Abbott, J.L. Austerweil, and T.L. Griffiths. Constructing a Hypothesis Space From the Web for Large-scale Bayesian Word Learning. 34th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Sapporo, Japan. August, 2012.

J.T. Abbott, K.A. Heller, Z. Ghahramani, and T.L. Griffiths. Testing a Bayesian Measure of Representativeness Using a Large Image Database. 25th Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems. Granada, Spain. December, 2011.

W. Fellner, J.L. Clark, J.T. Abbott, and H.E. Harley. Fine-scale Analysis of Bottlenose Dolphin Vocalizations Reveal Differential Use of Sub-units. 19th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. Tampa, Florida. November, 2011.

J.T. Abbott and T.L. Griffiths. Exploring the Influence of Particle Filter Parameters on Order Effects in Causal Learning. 33rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Boston, Massachusetts. July, 2011.

J.T. Abbott, K.A. Heller, Z. Ghahramani, and T.L. Griffiths. Applying a Bayesian Measure of Representativeness to Sets of Images. 44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Psychology. Boston, Massachusetts. July, 2011.

J.T. Abbott, H.E. Harley, J.L. Clark, and W. Fellner. Patterns in Sequences of Dolphin Vocalizations. 17th International Conference On Comparative Cognition. Melbourne, Florida. March, 2010.

W. Fellner, J.L. Clark, J.T. Abbott, and H.E. Harley. Micro-whistles: An Overlooked Category of Vocalizations in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). 17th International Conference On Comparative Cognition. Melbourne, Florida. March, 2010.

J.T. Abbott, J.L. Clark, H.E. Harley, and W. Fellner. Frequencies and Syntax in Sequences of Dolphin Vocalizations. 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. Quebec City, Canada. October, 2009.

J.T. Abbott. Some Generalizations on Counting Binary Strings. 40th Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing. Florida Atlantic University, March, 2009.

J.T. Abbott and T. McGuire. Using Graphs and Games to Generate Cap Set Bounds. 39th Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing. Florida Atlantic University, March, 2008.

J.T. Abbott. Variations on Conway's Game of Life. Northern California Undergraduate Mathematics Conference. Sonoma State University, April, 2007.

J.T. Abbott. Variations on Conway's Game of Life. 38th Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and Computing. Florida Atlantic University, March, 2007.