Looking Ahead
The New Science of the Predictive Mind

A rigorous yet accessible guide to the predictive revolution in science spanning psychological, mathematical, and neurobiological theories.

Falk Huettig (Author)

9781009245487, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 March 2025

362 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.5 cm, 0.67 kg

'Decades of research into the human mind have resulted in myriad different perspectives on the workings of that mind: Falk Huettig provides the reader with a sophisticated yet accessible tour of those different perspectives through the lens of prediction Looking Ahead the ability to use information from the past or present in service of accessing information about the future. Few books, if any, capture the range of phenomena, and associated disciplines, that are captured here. Both novice and expert will benefit from Huettig's ability to engage and guide the reader through such varied intellectual terrain. This should be on every cognitive scientist's list of essential reading.' Gerry Altmann, University of Connecticut

Driven by the transformative idea that the brain operates as a predictive engine, this book offers a rigorous yet accessible introduction to predictive processing's core concepts while navigating major theories with depth and critical evaluation. Huettig incorporates historical contexts and maintains a critical stance, shedding light on the pros and cons of various approaches across the many academic disciplines that investigate future-oriented behavior. Looking Ahead is indispensable reading for early students of the science of prediction in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence and computer science, experts in related fields, and for anyone who has ever wondered why, as a species, we take so much interest in what lies ahead.

Part I. Setting the Stage: 1. Talkin' Bout a Revolution: A Paradigm Shift
2. Defining Prediction
3. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Assessing a Theory
Part II. Psychological Theories: 4. Mind Reading: Introduction to Psychological Theories
5. Reinforcing and Connecting: Prediction Involves Associative Learning
6. Accessing the Remainders of Mental Representations & Filling in the Gaps: Prediction Involves Pre-Activation and Pattern Completion
7. Implicit Priming and Active Forecasting: Prediction Involves Two Systems
8. Mental Short-Cuts: Prediction Involves Simple Heuristics
9. Inferences About Others and Their Mental States: Prediction Involves Social Theories
10. Continuous Cycles of Perceiving, Acting, and Adjusting: Prediction Involves Perception-Action Loops
11. Event Representations of How the World Works: Prediction Involves Mental Models of Events
12. Moving Pictures in the Head: Prediction Involves Mental Simulation
Part III. Mathematical Theories: 13. Number Crunching: Introduction to Mathematical Theories
14. Learned Activation Patterns of Simple Connected Processing Units: Prediction Involves Connectionist Neural Networks
15. Reducing Surprisal and Entropy: Prediction Involves Information Theory
16. Probabilistic Beliefs about the State of the World: Prediction Involves Bayesian Inference
 17. Quantum Probabilities: Prediction Involves Mathematical Formalisms of Quantum Theory
Part IV. Neurobiological Theories: 18. Wetware: Introduction to Neurobiological Theories
19. Neuronal Overlap During Observation and Action: Prediction Involves Mirror Neurons
20. Forward Models in the Brain: Prediction Involves the Cerebellum as a Predictive Engine
21. Minimization of Prediction Errors by Self-Organizing Biological Systems: Prediction Involves Hierarchical Predictive Coding & Free Energy Neuroscience
22. Information Processing Facilitated by Neural Rhythms: Prediction Involves Neural Oscillations
Part V. The Future of Prediction: 23. Lumping and Splitting
24. A Look Ahead for Prediction Research.

Subject Areas: Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR]