Modern computational perspectives on executive mental processes and cognitive control: Where to from here?

Future research on cognitive control must precisely characterize the supervisory functions of executive mental processes. The achievement of this objective will be facilitated by formal concepts and algorithms from contemporary computer operating systems. In particular, operating-system fundamentals can help to advance work with the Executive-Process Interactive Control (EPIC) architecture, a theoretical framework for computational modeling of human multiple-task performance. EPIC models that incorporate general executive processes like those of operating systems provide insights about how people schedule tasks, allocate perceptual-motor resources, and coordinate task processes during multiple-task performance under both laboratory and real-world conditions. Such insights may lead to discoveries about the acquisition of procedural task knowledge and efficient multitasking skills. _________________________________ * This document is a preprint of a chapter to be published in S. Monsell and J. Driver (Eds.), Control of Cognitive Processes: Attention and Performance XVIII, Cambridge, MA, M.I.T. Press. The subsequent text cites companion chapters by other authors as appearing in "this volume". Support for the research reported herein was provided by grant N00014-92-J-1173 from the Cognitive Sciences Program of the Office of Naval Research to the University of Michigan. We thank members of the Brain, Cognition, and Action Laboratory (David Fencsik, Darren Gergle, Jennifer Glass, Leon Gmeindl, Cerita Jones, Shane Mueller, Eric Schumacher, Mollie Schweppe, and Travis Seymour) for helpful assistance. Comments by Leon Gmeindl, Stephen Monsell, Travis Seymour, and two anonymous reviewers on drafts of this chapter are greatly appreciated. Correspondence about this chapter should be addressed to: David E. Kieras (kieras@eecs. umich.edu), Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, Advanced Technology Laboratory Building, University of Michigan, 1101 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2110, USA; David E. Meyer (demeyer@umich.edu), Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 525 E. University, Ann Arbor, Michigan, MI 48109-1109, USA. Computation and Control Kieras, Meyer, Ballas, & Lauber