Unified theory of cognition
Encyclopedia
Unified Theories of Cognition is a 1990 book by Allen Newell
. Newell argues for the need of a set of general assumptions for cognitive model
s that account for all of cognition: a unified theory
of cognition
(UTC).
A UTC must explain how intelligent organism
s flexibly react to stimuli
from the environment, how they exhibit goal-directed behaviour and acquire goals rationally
, how they represent knowledge
(or which symbol
s they use), and learning
.
Newell's UTC argues that the mind
functions as a single system
. He also claims the established cognitive model
s are vastly underdetermined by experimental data. Therefore, a UTC accounting for the experimental data would provide constraints on the modeling process, resulting in more rigorous and predictive models. A UTC could also be applied as theoretical constructs to a much wider range of cognitive phenomena. When a phenomenon cannot plausibly be explained by the UTC's mechanisms, it could indicate the UTC is wrong.
Newell understands the term cognition to include perception
and motor control
.
The cognitive architecture
Soar
is an implementation of a UTC.
Allen Newell
Allen Newell was a researcher in computer science and cognitive psychology at the RAND corporation and at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, Tepper School of Business, and Department of Psychology...
. Newell argues for the need of a set of general assumptions for cognitive model
Cognitive model
A cognitive model is an approximation to animal cognitive processes for the purposes of comprehension and prediction. Cognitive models can be developed within or without a cognitive architecture, though the two are not always easily distinguishable.In contrast to cognitive architectures, cognitive...
s that account for all of cognition: a unified theory
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
of cognition
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
(UTC).
A UTC must explain how intelligent organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
s flexibly react to stimuli
Stimulation
Stimulation is the action of various agents on nerves, muscles, or a sensory end organ, by which activity is evoked; especially, the nervous impulse produced by various agents on nerves, or a sensory end organ, by which the part connected with the nerve is thrown into a state of activity.The word...
from the environment, how they exhibit goal-directed behaviour and acquire goals rationally
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
, how they represent knowledge
Knowledge representation
Knowledge representation is an area of artificial intelligence research aimed at representing knowledge in symbols to facilitate inferencing from those knowledge elements, creating new elements of knowledge...
(or which symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s they use), and learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
.
Newell's UTC argues that the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
functions as a single system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
. He also claims the established cognitive model
Cognitive model
A cognitive model is an approximation to animal cognitive processes for the purposes of comprehension and prediction. Cognitive models can be developed within or without a cognitive architecture, though the two are not always easily distinguishable.In contrast to cognitive architectures, cognitive...
s are vastly underdetermined by experimental data. Therefore, a UTC accounting for the experimental data would provide constraints on the modeling process, resulting in more rigorous and predictive models. A UTC could also be applied as theoretical constructs to a much wider range of cognitive phenomena. When a phenomenon cannot plausibly be explained by the UTC's mechanisms, it could indicate the UTC is wrong.
Newell understands the term cognition to include perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
and motor control
Motor control
Motor control are information processing related activities carried out by the central nervous system that organize the musculoskeletal system to create coordinated movements and skilled actions...
.
The cognitive architecture
Cognitive architecture
A cognitive architecture is a blueprint for intelligent agents. It proposes computational processes that act like certain cognitive systems, most often, like a person, or acts intelligent under some definition. Cognitive architectures form a subset of general agent architectures...
Soar
Soar (cognitive architecture)
Soar is a symbolic cognitive architecture, created by John Laird, Allen Newell, and Paul Rosenbloom at Carnegie Mellon University, now maintained by John Laird's research group at the University of Michigan. It is both a view of what cognition is and an implementation of that view through a...
is an implementation of a UTC.
Further reading
- Newell, A. (1994).Unified Theories of Cognition, Harvard University Press; Reprint edition, ISBN 0-674-92101-1.
- Newell, A. (1973). "You can’t play 20 questions with nature and win: Projective comments on the papers of this symposium". In W. G. Chase (ed.), Visual Information Processing. New York: Academic Press. (Read article online.)