A Cognitive Model of New Data on Human Problem Solving
I. Project Description
Cognitive modeling is the creation of models which resemble and explain the way in which humans do things. What makes them so interesting to me is the process though which cognitive scientists go in order to create these models. Cognitive scientists often use a generative theory in creating such models. A generative theory is a theory that explains a set of empirical observations by actually generating them (as opposed to just summarizing them or characterizing them with equations or logic). Thus, a generative theory has to be executable, like a computer program or a "recipe".
The system on which I'm basing my work is named Cascade (VenLehn, Jones & Chi, 1991). Cascade was originally developed to explain the cognitive mechanisms involved in the self-explanation effect (Chi et al., 1989; Fergusson-Hessler & de Jong, 1990; Pirolli & Bielaczyc, 1989). Simplifying a bit, the effect shows that people learn more effectively by studying examples when they are careful to explain to themselves as many steps of the example as they can. Students who do not carefully explain worked out example steps do not perform as well on subsequent problems. Cascade models the potential learning mechanisms that cause this effect.
I now wish to apply the Cascade model to a new problem domain and a new set of psychological data. Originally, Cascade was written to solve problems in Newtonian physics, the domain used in Chi et al.'s study. Since Cascade was first created additional psychological research has been done in other problem domains. Due to the versatility of Cascade, applying the Cascade model to other problem domains would be beneficial. In the fall of 2000 I...
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...nnual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society.
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The hopes of the prohibitionist were dreams of a healthier and more successful nation. Their dreams were spun from the idea of shutting out the alcohol industry and enforcing large industries and stressing family values. The eighteenth amendment consisted of the end of sales, production, transportation, as for importation and exportation of intoxicating liquors. Their imaginations were large and very hopeful. The prohibitionists felt that alcohol is a slow poison of their community. They felt that if the liquor industry was shut out that Americans would spend their hard earned money in the clothing, food, and shoe industries therefore boosting the American economy. Many felt, “Seeing what a sober nation can do is indeed a noble experiment and one that has never yet been tried, (Crowther, 11) Prohibition was a test of the strength of the nation and an attempt at cleaning up societies evils. These reformers denounce alcohol as a danger to society as well as to the human body. Some ethnic hopes of prohibition was to regulate the foreigners whose backgrounds consisted on the use of alcohol for religious purposes. And try to enforce an American valued society upon them. Many reformists felt that ending the use of alcohol would protect American homes and families. They felt that alcohol use was the root of their family’s destruction. Many women felt that their husbands would waste a lot of their income on the purchase of alcohol and not on family needs. Alcohol was often known as a “poison, or sin”. Another hope for the eighteenth amendment was to reduce the crime and death rate. Many people felt that drunkenness was the cause of many of the nations crimes. Prohibitionist felt very passionately on their cause and were often called “dry’s.” They felt their battle was justified and that, “it is manifest destiny that alcohol will not survive the scrutiny,”(Darrow and Yarros, 20).
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From infancy to adulthood, organisms are always learning. The conscious and the subconscious are taking in information and sorting it, discarding irrelevant information and storing the relevant. The most common mode of gaining knowledge is through repetitions and memorization. These methods are effective for knowing exact definitions but do not develop understanding. In O Americano Outra Vez, Richard Feynman describes his teaching experiences while at the Brazilian Center for Physical Research. There he discovers the flaw in the modern education system, students are memorizing material but are unable to apply it to a real life scenarios, demonstrating they are gaining knowledge but not understanding it. Similar to Feynman’s Brazilian class,
Many people, in England, believe that there has always been one queen to stand above the rest. That queen was Elizabeth the 1st. She has made many accomplishments during her reign. From a compromise about what religion England would follow to defeating the Spanish Armada.
...n looking at the results, they found out that the learning curve was exponential. The researchers assumed that learning occurs while people study and encode material into the brain.
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Cognitive theory is a learning approach in psychology that attempts to explain the behavior of humans by studying thoughts and reasoning process. The cognitive theory is founded on many other factors like cognitive reasoning and social cognitive theory. Aaron Beck founded the theory and it is meant to understand the human behavior by observing the processes triggered by reasoning and individual thoughts. The cognitive theory is a research based theory because it tends to investigate human behavior through making observations and thought analysis.
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To fully understand this story, it’s important to have some background information on Franz Kafka. He was born into a German speaking family in Prague on July 3rd, 1883. He was the oldest of six children. His father Harmann Kafka was a business man. His mother Julie Kafka was born into a wealthy family. Kafka considered the vast differences in his paternal and maternal relatives as a “split within himself” (Sokel 1). Kafka felt that “the powerful, self-righteous, and totally unselfconscious personality of his father had stamped him with an ineradicable conviction of his own inferiority and guilt” (Sokel 1). He felt the o...
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Cognitive Psychology is focused on learning based on how people perceive, remember, think, speak and problem-solve. The cognitive perspective differs in...