The contextual modularity of complex cognition

Bibliographics, Abstract, content links, and references. The main text is on a separate page.

Simon Grant February 1994

This material is copyright and must not be reproduced or copied without the formal consent of the copyright owner. Ask before setting up any links here.

Bibliographics

Grant, S. (1994). The contextual modularity of complex cognition. In: Cooper, R. and Grant, S. (eds), Computational Models of Cognition and Cognitive Function, pp 51--60, Leeds.

Modularity in models of complex cognition can be achieved through either functional, or contextual, differentiation. Complementing Cooper's approaches (this volume) to functional modularity, here contextual modularity is examined. The threads in cognitive science about contextual modularity have to varying degrees, on the one hand, clearly defined cognitive modules, and on the other hand, clearly defined means of coordinating or articulating those modules. The present paper argues that the two have not been successfully integrated, and proposes a model embodying that integration. It recapitulates empirical study with a view of cognition as having a clearly contextually modular structure, where at any time the user or operator is in one or other of the contextual modules. Each module has specific rules governing decisions or actions, a specific cognitive representation of the relevant variables in the context, and specific sources of information which are used in the derivation of the relevant variables. How are these contextual cognitive modules coordinated? Here, the hypothesis is that there are two radically different kinds of transition from one module to another, namely, a learned, context-dependent mechanism, and an associative mechanism dealing with situations that have not often been met before. This being a new approach, it is shown how it may deal with some of the outstanding problems in earlier work. A computational model of these processes is under construction, using the language SCEPTIC, already widely used for cognitive modelling.

1. Introduction

1.1 Functional modularity

1.2 Contextual modularity

2. Analysis of previous themes in contextual modularity

2.1 Models where the nature of the modules is clearly defined

2.2 Models that have clearly defined interrelationships

3. Putting together nature and interrelationship of modules

4. Two mechanisms for transition between contextual modules

4.1 A learned mechanism for change of context

4.2 An associative mechanism for change of context

5. Computational modelling

5.1 Overall structure

5.2 Transitions between modules

5.3 How to implement transitions

6. Discussion

References

John R. Anderson (1983). The Architecture of Cognition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

John R. Anderson (1989). A theory of the origins of human knowledge. Artificial Intelligence, 40:313--351.

Alan Baddeley (1983). Your Memory: A User's Guide. Penguin, Harmondsworth, England.

Lisanne Bainbridge. An Analysis of a Verbal Protocol from a Process Control Task. PhD thesis, Faculty of Science, University of Bristol, England, 1972.

Lisanne Bainbridge. Analysis of verbal protocols from a process control task. In Elwyn Edwards and Frank P. Lees, editors, The Human Operator in Process Control, pages 146--158. Taylor & Francis, London, England, 1974.

Lisanne Bainbridge. Types of hierarchy imply types of model. Ergonomics, 36(11):1399--1412, 1993.

Philip J. Barnard. Cognitive resources and the learning of human-computer dialogs. In John M. Carroll, editor, Interfacing Thought: Cognitive Aspects of Human-Computer Interaction, chapter 6. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1987.

F. C. Bartlett. Remembering. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1932.

Jerry A. Fodor. The Modularity of Mind. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1983.

A. Simon Grant. Modelling Cognitive Aspects of Complex Control Tasks. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 1990. Available from the author.

A. Simon Grant and J. Terry Mayes. Cognitive task analysis? In George R. S. Weir and James L. Alty, editors, Human-Computer Interaction and Complex Systems, chapter 6. Academic Press, London, 1991.

M. Minsky. A framework for representing knowledge. In P. H. Winston, editor, The Psychology of Computer Vision. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1975.

M. Minsky. The Society of Mind. Heinemann, London, 1987.

Allen Newell. Unified Theories of Cognition. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990.

Jens Rasmussen. Information Processing and Human-Machine Interaction: An Approach to Cognitive Engineering. North-Holland, New York, 1986.

R. C. Schank and R. Abelson. Scripts, Plans, Goals and Understanding. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, 1977.

Roger C. Schank. Dynamic memory: A theory of reminding and learning in computers and people. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1982.

Tim Shallice. From Neuropsychology to Mental Structure. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988.