Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2001. / Title from certificate page. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-182). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71624.

Decision-making in uncertain environments poses a conflict between the goals of exploiting past knowledge in order to maximize rewards and exploring less-known options in order to gather information. The descriptive modeling framework utilized in previous studies of exploratory choice behavior characterizes exploration as the result of a noisy decision process, rather than a process reflecting beliefs and/or uncertainty about the environment. It stands to reason that people do not merely negotiate the exploration-exploitation dilemma by stochastically making choices, but rather, fully utilize their knowledge of the environment structure and integrate their trial-by-trial observations of choice in order to direct exploratory choice. The work presented in this dissertation evaluates this hypothesis. As the previous used tasks structures and descriptive models obfuscate this more sophisticated form of belief-directed exploration, I describe a novel exploration-exploitation task that affords disentanglement of reflective belief-directed exploration strategy from a reflexive and naïve exploration strategy. The former strategy is distinguished from latter by its ability to update its belief states in the absence of direct observations of choice payoff changes. Accordingly, we specify cognitive models instantiating these two choice strategies and in the first experiment, we find evidence that behavior is by and large better characterized by a reflective strategy, and further, that choice latencies appear to index value computations carried out in implementing such a strategy. In a second experiment, I reveal how physiological arousal (measured by Skin Conductance Responses) appears to index a form of value computation similar to what is prescribed this reflective model, and further, how individual differences in physiological response to these value signals bear on choice behavior. In a third experiment, I demonstrate how this sophisticated form of choice behavior carries cognitive costs, and following the contemporary model-based/model-free reinforcement learning framework, I show how placing concurrent decision-makers under cognitive load diminishes the contribution of the more sophisticated reflective exploration strategy, fostering reliance on stochastic, reflexive form of exploratory choice behavior. / text

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. (2003) User Interface Design. MacMillan Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, Vol. 4, London:MacMillan, 453-458. Article definition: This article covers the basic issues that the field of cognitive science raises in the design and testing of new digital technologies for human use. Contents list: Introduction, Cognitive Science and design, The Basics of Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Design Guidelines: from psychophysics to semiotics, Beyond guidelines Cognitive theories and models in HCI, Developing user-centered design methods, Summary, Bibliography, Glossary

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. (1990) Accessing information: a psychological analysis of researchers' perceptions of texts. In: M. Feeney and K. Merry (eds.) Information Technology and the Research Process, London: Bowker-Saur, 104-113. Abstract: An important aspect of any application of new technology is understanding how the proposed users of this technology conceptualise the task domain. In terms of the research process this requires an appreciation of researchers' practices and preferences. Only in this way is it possible to develop technology which will support the researcher. The present paper outlines work carried out within the academic community under the British Library funded Project QUARTET. It reports on research aimed at understanding human interaction with a variety of text-based information sources with a view to specifying user requirements for future technologies. By employing personal construct theory and repertory grid analysis it becomes possible to shed light on researchers' perceptions and uses of current sources of information. Results are presented and the implications of such findings for the development of information storage, retrieval and presentation systems will be discussed.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. and Sweeney, M. (1988) The application of cognitive psychology to CAD. In D. Jones and R.Winder (eds.) People and Computers IV. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 477-488. Abstract: The design of usable human-computer interfaces is one of the primary goals of the HCI specialist. To date however interest has focussed mainly on office or text based systems such as word processors or databases. Computer aided design (CAD) represents a major challenge to the human factors community to provide suitable input and expertise to an area where the users goals and requirements are cognitively distinct from more typical HCI. The present paper is based on psychological investigations of the engineering domain, involving an experimental comparison of designers using CAD and the more traditional drawing board. By employing protocol analytic techniques it is possible to shed light on the complex problem-solving nature of design and to demonstrate the crucial role of human factors in the development of interfaces which facilitate the designers in their task. A model of the cognition of design is proposed which indicates that available knowledge and guidelines alone are not sufficient to aid CAD developers and the distinct nature of the engineering designer's task merits specific attention. (This is a paper presented at HCI 1988 and the book is a record of all the proceedings at this conference, the major annual European conference on human-computer interaction.)

Analogical reasoning is one of the most fascinating activities in human thought and can be described as the process of understanding a given situation, called the <I>target</I>, by comparison with another situation, called the <I>source</I> (or <I>base</I>), which is more familiar or better understood. The use of the analogy provides one mechanism for reasoning when classical deductive methods are insufficient. One of the main shortcomings of previous work on analogy is that it required a task-specific knowledge representation, since it can access analogues only if they are already <I>structured</I> in memory, i.e. only if the memory consists of a <I>collection</I> of separately encoded, explicit items. The "standard" analogy algorithm of most previous work is based on a first stage during which a set of potential sources is <I>selected</I> from the knowledge base. If, however, potential sources are not directly identifiable in memory, then this strategy is not applicable. The main objective of this thesis work has been to devise an analogy which can be applied to multifunctional knowledge bases (i.e. "task-general" knowledge bases), which have not been pre-processed for the analogy task. The model of analogical reasoning proposed in this thesis is based on the novel view of the analogue retrieval problem being an analogue <I>construction</I> problem, as opposed to the common view of analogue retrieval as an analogue <I>selection</I> problem. This novel approach combines the <I>access</I>, <I>mapping</I> and <I>generalisation </I>stages of classical analogical reasoning in a single constrained search process, and uses a collection of abstraction operators to achieve a greater mapping flexibility. The model has been implemented in the ALBION system and has been applied to a sizeable multifunctional knowledge base developed independently of this work. This shows the suitability of the model to tackle multifunctional knowledge bases. Additionally, experimental time and space complexity studies indicate that the approach can be efficiently applied to large-scale knowledge bases.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 299-311).

Escalating rates of aggression in South African schools, particularly in the Western Cape, are disconcerting. The early childhood through adolescent years is therefore an important platform for investigations to inform strategies to reduce and prevent aggressive behaviour. Studies conducted outside of South Africa have identified numerous correlates of aggressive behaviour; investigation in South Africa has, however, been sparse. The role of empathy, in specific, has been limited to one prior investigation. Furthermore, while empathy is considered an important construct in explanations of aggressive behaviour internationally, theoretical and methodological issues have undermined findings to date. Our understanding of the relationship between empathy and aggressive behaviour needs refining. I investigated the role of empathy, while simultaneously investigating the role of several known correlates of empathy and aggressive behaviour in typically developing young adolescents (N = 160, ages 11-13; Study 1) and children (N = 76, ages 6-8; Study 2) living in the Western Cape of South Africa. To improve on previous investigations, I employed a framework informed by both neurobiological and behavioural approaches. I conceptualised empathy as comprising affective and cognitive components, as well as a self-regulation component concerned with regulation of affective states. Employing a contextual approach, I argued that the interaction between these empathy components along with multiple contextual factors would provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between empathy and aggressive behaviour. I used hierarchical regression and structural equation models to investigate the correlates of aggressive behaviour. Empathy was significantly correlated with Aggressive Behaviour in young adolescents, but not in children. Furthermore, as expected, contextual factors were also significantly correlated with Aggressive Behaviour: Household Income, Parenting Style, and Parent Empathy were correlated with Aggressive Behaviour in young adolescents, while among the measures taken only Parenting Style was correlated with Aggressive Behaviour in children. Future investigations should, as in the current dissertation, work towards articulating the complex web of relationships between correlates of aggressive behaviour and their changes across development.

Bilinguals have repeatedly shown to have better results than monolinguals in non-verbal cognitive tasks that require inhibition of distracting stimuli. Evidence suggests that this enhanced performance is due to training effects of non domain specific executive functions, and that this gain in cognitive performance can contribute to a cognitive reserve in old age. One of the most frequently used methods when studying the relationship between second language proficiency and cognitive abilities is the Simon task in the visual sensory modality. The present study aimed to determine if the advantage found in the visual Simon task also could apply to a tactile Simon task. The sample consisted of 40 individuals aged 43 to 64 with different levels in their second language. An operational span test (OSPAN) was used to control for working memory capacity. No significant correlation was found between bilingualism and the Simon effect in either modality. Since the study has low statistical power and a small range in second language proficiency, it was concluded that further research investigating whether the bilingual advantage found in the visual Simon task can be found across modalities is necessary before any conclusions regarding a relationship between bilingualism and cognitive control can be made.