Modelling and Analysing Cognition and Interaction

Abstract

In this chapter we investigate how to formally model human cognition and how cognition drives the way people think and behave, thus linking people’s external behaviour, described in terms of their tasks, with people’s internal cognitive processing. This complements the physical and digital aspects of human-computer interaction considered in Chap. 1. Human memory is the basis of cognitive processing. The chapter starts presenting conceptual models of memory and the way they can be represented to best facilitate human understanding as well as to provide a formal, linear notation that can be used computationally but still does not prevent human understanding. Such a notation, the Behaviour and Reasoning Description Language (BRDL), is then used to illustrate how to model both factual and behavioural knowledge and how to use these two types of knowledge in cognitive processing and human activities. The last part of the chapter provides a light introduction to informal and formal approaches to the analysis of cognition and interaction.

Work partly funded by Project SEDS2020004 “Analysis of cognitive properties of interactive systems using model checking”, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan (Award number: 240919FD3916).

A BRDL Syntax

In this appendix we summerise the BRDL syntax by using squared brackets ‘[’ and ‘]’ to enclose optional parts:

Fact Representations:

${knowledge\ domain}: {category}\ |{\longrightarrow }|\ {label}({category/attribute})$

Inference Rules:

${premise}\,{\uparrow }\,{}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {}\, \downarrow \, {consequence}$

Planning Rules:

${goal :\ current\ stage}\,{\uparrow }\,{}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {}\, \downarrow \, {next\ stage}$

Explicit Attention Rules:

${goal :\ [mental\ state]}\,{\uparrow }\,{perception}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {}\, \downarrow \, {internalised/processed\ perception}$

Implicit Attention Rules:

${[mental\ state]}\,{\uparrow }\,{perception}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {}\, \downarrow \, {internalised/processed\ perception}$

Fully Deliberate Behaviour Rules:

${goal :\ }\,{\uparrow }\,{}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {action}\, \downarrow \, {[next\ mental\ state]}$

Strongly Deliberate Behaviour Rules:

${goal :\ current\ mental\ state}\,{\uparrow }\,{}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {action}\, \downarrow \, {[next\ mental\ state]}$

Weakly Deliberate Behaviour Rules:

${current\ mental\ state}\,{\uparrow }\,{}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {action}\, \downarrow \, {[next\ mental\ state]}$

Fully Automatic Behaviour Rules:

${}\,{\uparrow }\,{perception}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {action}\, \downarrow \, {[next\ mental\ state]}$

Strongly Automatic Behaviour Rules:

${current\ mental\ state}\,{\uparrow }\,{perception}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {action}\, \downarrow \, {[next\ mental\ state]}$

Weakly Automatic Behaviour Rules:

${goal :\ [current\ mental\ state]}\,{\uparrow }\,{perception}\ {\Longrightarrow }\ {action}\, \downarrow \, {[next\ mental\ state]}$