What does ACT-R have to do to be Practical?

John R. AndersonPsychology Department

Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA 15213

ja+@cmu.edu

ACT-R Home Page: http://act.psy.cmu.edu

1. Ill-structured2. Uncertain dynamic environments3. Shifting, ill-defined or competing goals4. Action/feedback loops5. Time stress6. High stakes7. Multiple players8. Organizational goals and norms.

Characteristics of Naturalistic Decision Settings

(Orasanu & Connolly, 1993)

1. Newell's Rational Level versus Cognitive Level

2. The TacAir-Soar Experience -- abandon learning -- much more than 10 man years of development -- abandon concern with behavioral detail.

“From earlier experience in cognitive modeling, we know that attempting to model human behavior to the greatest degree possible would greatlyslow development and increase the required computational resources.”

(Jones, Laird, Nielsen, Coutler, Kenny, & Koss, (1999). p. 33.)

3. The Cognitive Tutor Experience -- abandon learning -- much more than 10 man years of development -- abandon concern with behavioral detail.

4. Christian Lebiere's Position -- it is precisely the abandoning of learning and

the cognitive level creates these systems which will never have the richness of knowledge

-- sweat the details now and reap the rewards later.

Detail and Knowledge: Friends or Foes?