Ideal tasks
Encyclopedia
Ideal tasks arise during task analysis
. Ideal tasks are different from real tasks. They are ideals in the Platonic
sense of a circle
being an ideal where as a drawn circle is flawed and real. The study of theoretically best or “mathematically ideal” tasks (Green & Swets, 1966), has been the basis of the branch of stimulus control
in psychology called Psychophysics
as well as being part of Artificial Intelligence
(e. g. Goel & Chandrasekaran, 1992). Such studies include the instantiation of such ideal tasks in the real world. The notion of the ideal task has also played an important role in information theory
. Tasks are defined as sequences of contingencies, each presenting stimuli and requiring an action or a sequence of actions to occur in some non-arbitrary fashion. These contingencies may not only provide stimuli that require the discrimination of relations among actions and events but among task actions themselves. Again, Task actions, E, are actions that are required to complete tasks. Properties of tasks (usually the stimuli, or the relationship among stimuli and actions) are varied, and responses to them can be measured and analyzed.
Task analysis
Task analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, task complexity, environmental conditions, necessary clothing and equipment, and any other unique factors...
. Ideal tasks are different from real tasks. They are ideals in the Platonic
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
sense of a circle
Circle
A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....
being an ideal where as a drawn circle is flawed and real. The study of theoretically best or “mathematically ideal” tasks (Green & Swets, 1966), has been the basis of the branch of stimulus control
Stimulus control
Stimulus control is the phenomenon of a stimulus increasing the probability of a behavior because of a history of that behavior being differentially reinforced in the presence of the stimulus...
in psychology called Psychophysics
Psychophysics
Psychophysics quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they effect. Psychophysics has been described as "the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation" or, more completely, as "the analysis of perceptual...
as well as being part of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(e. g. Goel & Chandrasekaran, 1992). Such studies include the instantiation of such ideal tasks in the real world. The notion of the ideal task has also played an important role in information theory
Information theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
. Tasks are defined as sequences of contingencies, each presenting stimuli and requiring an action or a sequence of actions to occur in some non-arbitrary fashion. These contingencies may not only provide stimuli that require the discrimination of relations among actions and events but among task actions themselves. Again, Task actions, E, are actions that are required to complete tasks. Properties of tasks (usually the stimuli, or the relationship among stimuli and actions) are varied, and responses to them can be measured and analyzed.