Unified Theories of Cognition

Newell argues that the mind functions as a single system. He also claims the established cognitive models are vastly underdetermined by experimental data. By cognition, Newell means: • Problem solving, decision making, routine action • Memory, learning, skill • Perception, motor behavior • Language • Motivation, emotion • Imagining, dreaming, daydreaming After arguing in favor of the development of unified theories of cognition, Newell puts forward a list of constraints to any unified theory, in that a theory should explain how a mind does the following: • Behave flexibly as a function of the environment • Exhibit adaptive (rational, goal-oriented) behavior • Operate in real time • Operate in a rich, complex, detailed environment (Perceive an immense amount of changing detail; use vast amounts of knowledge; and control a motor system of many degrees of freedom) • Use symbols and abstractions • Use language, both natural and artificial • Learn from the environment and from experience • Acquire capabilities through development • Operate autonomously, but within a social community • Be self-aware and have a sense of self • Be realizable as a neural system • Be construable by an embryological growth process • Arise through evolution Newell's secondary task is to put forward the cognitive architecture Soar as an implementation of a UTC that meets the constraints above. Other efforts at unified theories of cognition cited in the book include ACT-R and the human processor model. ==See also==