Structural Process Models Of Complex Human Behavior

Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Simon has in the past quarter century been in the front line of the information-processing revolution; in fact, to a remarkable extent his and his colleagues' contributions have written the history of that revolution in cognitive psychology. Research in this burgeoning new branch of knowledge seeks to describe with precision the workings of the human mind in terms of a small number of basic mechanisms organized into strategies. Newly developed computer languages express theories of mental processes, so that computers can then simulate the predicted human behavior. This book brings together papers dating from the start of Simon's career to the present. Its focus is on modeling the chief components of human cognition and on testing these models experimentally. After considering basic structural elements of the human information-processing system (especially search, selective attention, and storage in memory), Simon builds from these components a system capable of solving problems, inducing rules and concepts, perceiving, and understanding. These essays describe a relatively austere, simple, and unified processing system capable of highly complex and various tasks. They provide strong evidence for an explanation of human thinking in terms of basic information processes.

Resulting from the need for greater realism in models of human and organizational behavior in military simulations, there has been increased interest in research on integrative models of human performance, both within the cognitive science community generally, and within the defense and aerospace industries in particular. This book documents accomplishments and lessons learned in a multi-year project to examine the ability of a range of integrated cognitive modeling architectures to explain and predict human behavior in a common task environment that requires multi-tasking and concept learning. This unique project, called the Agent-Based Modeling and Behavior Representation (AMBR) Model Comparison, involved a series of human performance model evaluations in which the processes and performance levels of computational cognitive models were compared to each other and to human operators performing the identical tasks. In addition to quantitative data comparing the performance of the models and real human performance, the book also presents a qualitatively oriented discussion of the practical and scientific considerations that arise in the course of attempting this kind of model development and validation effort. The primary audiences for this book are people in academia, industry, and the military who are interested in explaining and predicting complex human behavior using computational cognitive modeling approaches. The book should be of particular interest to individuals in any sector working in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Engineering, System Engineering, Human Factors, Ergonomics and Operations Research. Any technically or scientifically oriented professional or student should find the material fully accessible without extensive mathematical background.

Instructional Design Theories and Models is a thorough yet concise overview of eight of the most comprehensive and best-known attempts to integrate knowledge about effective and appealing instruction. Chapters were written by the original theorists to provide a more accurate and behind-the-scenes look at the theories' development. Instructional Des

First Published in 1983. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book presents new data in Applied Activity Theory (AAT) and Systemic-Structural Activity Theory (SSAT), that can be used in the study of human performance. The SSAT is the high-level generality theory that offers standardized principles of the analyses of human activity. These principles can be utilized in theoretical and applied studies. This multi-contributed book offers a selection of works that will provide a holistic picture of the field. The new data can be utilized for the study of extremely complex human-machine and human-computer interaction systems, and for evaluation of efficiency, complexity, and reliability of such systems at the design stage. Features Shows examples of self-regulative models of various cognitive processes Illustrates a method of study of production process in the construction industry Includes topics on learning, training, and management Covers a new method of computer based automated support of decision making under risk and uncertainty Presents a new method of evaluation of probabilistic structure of tasks, and the method of assessing reliability of human performance

Describes contemporary approach to the modeling of complex cognitive and behavioral processes. This book provides examples of translational research ranging from clinical neuropsychology to self-actualization, from medical informatics to industrial psychology, from programmed learning to psychiatric rehabilitation.

Selected as one of the outstanding instructional development books in 1989 by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, this volume presents research in instructional design theory as it applies to microcomputer courseware. It includes recommendations -- made by a distinguished group of instructional designers -- for creating courseware to suit the interactive nature of today's technology. Principles of instructional design are offered as a solid base from which to develop more effective programs for this new method of teaching -- and learning.