The Rise of Cognitive Architectures

ate computer simulations that perform the tasks that humans perform by simulating the way humans process information. These simulations of behavior, called cognitive models, are theories of the knowledge and the mechanisms that give rise to behavior. The sets of mechanisms are assumed to be fixed across tasks, which allow them to be realized as a reusable computer program that corresponds to the architecture of cognition, or cognitive architecture. (More complete explanations are provided by Newell’s [1990] Unified Theories of Cognition, by Anderson’s ACT-R work [Anderson et al., 2004], and by ongoing work with connectionist and neural architectures.) Because cognitive models increasingly allow us to predict behavior and explain the mechanisms behind behavior, they have many applications. They can support design activities, and they serve in many roles where intelligence is needed. As a result, interest in cognitive models and architectures can be found in several areas: Researchers in psychology and cognitive science are interested in them as theories. Researchers in human factors, in synthetic environments, and in intelligent systems are interested in them for applications and design. Researchers in applied domains such as video games and technical applications such as trainers are interested in them as simulated colleagues and opponents. Although some earlier precursors can be found, the main work on cognitive models began in about 1960 (Newell, Shaw, & Simon, 1960). These models have now reached a new level of maturity. For example, a review commissioned by the National Research Council (Pew & Mavor, 1998) found that cognitive models had been developed to a level that made them useful in synthetic environments. A later review (Ritter et al., 2003) examined cognitive architectures created outside the United States and found similar results. Both reviews recommended a list of future projects, which are being undertaken by individual researchers. These and similar projects have been increasingly seen in requests for proposals put out by funding agencies around the world. Results and interest in cognitive models and architectures are rising.