Elsevier

Cognitive Systems Research

Volume 12, Issues 3–4, September–December 2011, Pages 336-354
Cognitive Systems Research

Predicting temporal errors in complex task environments: A computational and experimental approach

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2010.09.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Management in complex environments requires knowledge about temporal contingencies. Expectations about durations enable us to prepare for important events in good time, but also to detect irregularities. Unfortunately, time perception is not invariant. Situational aspects as well as features of the task at hand may dramatically change our sense of time. Particularly under varying workload conditions, temporal distortions may lead to performance errors. A valid and reliable model of time perception must account for these characteristics.

Based on the cognitive architecture ACT-R (Anderson et al., 2004), we developed a computational model in line with this requirement. Specific emphasis was placed on mechanisms of coordinative working memory which seem to influence time encoding and perception.

The model’s assumptions were tested in three steps. First, the model was applied to account for time distortions ‘a posteriori’. Effects of varying working memory demands reported by Dutke (2005) were replicated and explained by simulations of the model. Second, the model was used for predicting effects ‘a priori’. Augmenting Dutke’s (2005) approach by switching between different degrees of memory demands, predictions of time distortions were derived from the model. These predictions were compared with experimental data. Central assumptions of the model were supported, but there were also some deviations that the model had not captured. Based on the conclusions from the results of the experiment, a second a priori testing addressed temporal expectations in a complex task using a micro-world scenario. The results support the interpretation of the previous experiment and provide new insights for modelling time perception.

In summary, our results indicate that coordinative working memory – in contrast to general attention – causes differences in timing performance. This characteristic is captured by our approach. The model we propose heavily relies on mechanisms of working memory and can be applied to explain effects for different time intervals, under a variety of experimental conditions and in different task environments.

Section snippets

The role of time in complex cognition

Complex cognition occurs under complex conditions (Knauff & Wolf, 2010). Such conditions are typical for environments in which a number of interrelated factors take effect and influence each other. Examples can be found in everyday life (e.g. planning and making a journey from location A to location B) as well as at the workplace (e.g. monitoring and controlling a technical system). Coping in such environments involves forms of complex cognition, e.g. problem solving, planning and decision

Time Cognition in Complex Tasks

One central characteristic of time perception is that it relates to ‘something happening’. This may be the occurrence of an event, a process of change, or the duration of an action. The conscious estimation of time is always linked to additional processing required by another task, whether in terms of observation or in terms of action.

Among the first who addressed this ‘dual character’ of time assessment was the philosopher and psychologist James (1890). He distinguished between (a) estimating

Validation of the TaSTE-Module

To investigate the TaSTE-Module empirically, controlled conditions must be established which require participants (i) to observe or do something (non-temporal task), and (ii) to estimate its duration (temporal task). This setting accounts for the ‘dual character’ of time assessment (see Section 2.1) and can be used in two ways. First, the module can be applied in an ‘a posteriori’ manner. Results of experiments in which non-temporal and temporal tasks have been investigated together can be

General discussion

Complex cognition occurs when our environment calls for planning, decision making, reasoning or concerted actions. This happens when we have to cope with difficult tasks or complicated problems that cannot be solved in a matter of seconds. Instead, their solution takes a longer period of time. During this interval, all kinds of observations may be made, a large amount of information may be processed and a variety of actions may be taken. As shown in Fig. 3, all these events divide the time we

Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG Research Training Group Prospective Design of Human Technology Interaction, GRK 1013) and by Volkswagen Stiftung (Research Group Modelling of User Behaviour in Dynamic Systems).

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