[12] CMSC 173 - Cognitive Aspects

Cognition

the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses (Oxford)

Many Different Kinds of Cognition

• thinking

• remembering

• learning

• day-dreaming

• decision-making

• seeing

• reading

• writing

• talking

Different Modes of Cognition

• Experiential vs. Reflective

• Fast vs. Slow

• Cognitive Processes

Cognitive Processes

• attention

• perception

• memory

• learning

• reading, speaking, and listening

• problem-solving, planning, reasoning, and decision-making

[Cognitive Processes] Attention

• involves selecting things on which to concentrate, at a point in time, from the range of possibilities available, allowing us to focus on information that is relevant to what we are doing

• depends on:

  • clarity of goals

  • information presentation

Example:

• multitasking; is it ok to use a phone while driving?

[Cognitive Processes] Perception

refers to how information is acquired from the environment via the five sense organs and transformed into experiences of objects, events, sounds, and tastes

[Cognitive Processes] Memory

• involves recalling various kinds of knowledge that allow people to act appropriately

• working memory vs. long-term memory

Examples:

• saving and searching files

• multiple information being asked for additional security measures

• passwords

working memory

ability to recall a small amount of information from a recent time period

long-term memory

capacity to recall memories from a longer time ago

[Cognitive Processes] Learning

software developers cannot assume that users will simple be able to learn how to use an app or product

incidental learning

occurs without any intention to learn

intentional learning

goal-directed with the goal of being able to remember it

[Cognitive Processes] Reading, Speaking Listening

SImilarity:

• the meaning remains the same regardless of the mode

Differences:

• written language is more permanent while listening is transient

• reading can be quicker than speaking and listening

• listening requires less cognitive effort than reading or speaking

• written language tends to be grammatical, while spoken is often ungrammatical

• dyslexics have difficulties understanding and recognizing written words

[Cognitive Processes] Problem-Solving, Planning, Reasoning, and Decision-Making

• these are processes involving reflective cognition

• they include thinking about what to do, what the available options are, and what the consequences might be of carrying out a given action

Cognitive Frameworks

• mental models

• gulfs of execution and evaluation

• information processing

• distributed cognition

• external cognition

• embodied interaction

[Cognitive Frameworks] Mental Models

used by people when needing to reason about a technology, in particular, to try to fathom what to do when something unexpected happens with it or when encountering unfamiliar products for the first time

How can interfaces help people form better mental models?

• clear and easy-to-follow instructions

• online help, video tutorials, chatbot windows, etc.

• accessible background information

• affordances of an interface

• appropriate metaphors at the interface

[Cognitive Frameworks] Gulf of Execution

distance from the user to the physical system

[Cognitive Frameworks] Gulf of Evaluation

distance from the physical system to the user

[Cognitive Frameworks] Information Processing

• provided a basis form which to make predictions about human performance

• hypotheses were based on reaction time

• human processor model

[Cognitive Frameworks] Distributed Cognition

studies the nature cognitive phenomena across individuals, artifacts, and internal and external representations

[Cognitive Frameworks] External Cognition

combination of external representations (e.g., books, web pages, notes) and physical tools to interact and create information

How can External Cognition empower cognitive abilities?

• cognitive offloading to reduce memory

• computational offloading to reduce human cognitive effort when performing a task

• annotating and cognitive tracing

Embodied Interaction

• the practical engagement with the social and physical environment

• how our bodies and active experiences shape how we perceive, feel, and think