Modeling Task Immersion based on Goal Activation Mechanism

TL;DR

A computational model of arousal dynamics where the excessively increased arousal makes the task transition difficult is constructed and consistency of behavior between humans and models both in the two different simulation settings is shown.

Abstract

Immersion in a task is a prerequisite for creativity. However, excessive arousal in a single task has drawbacks, such as overlooking events outside of the task. To examine such a negative aspect, this study constructs a computational model of arousal dynamics where the excessively increased arousal makes the task transition difficult. The model was developed using functions integrated into the cognitive architecture Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R). Under the framework, arousal is treated as a coefficient affecting the overall activation level in the model. In our simulations, we set up two conditions demanding low and high arousal, trying to replicate corresponding human experiments. In each simulation condition, two sets of ACT-R parameters were assumed from the different interpretations of the human experimental settings. The results showed consistency of behavior between humans and models both in the two different simulation settings. This result suggests the validity of our assumptions and has implications of controlling arousal in our daily life.

Figures (11)

• Figure 1: Task interface.
• Figure 2: Human data. The x-axis represents 30 time points (one-min rounds). The y-axis represents the time-series change in each indicator averaged over participants ($n=24$ for LAD, $n=39$ for HAD). Each dotted line indicates the result of a polynomial regression (degree = 2) shown in Table \ref{['table:human_regression']}. Error bars attached to the offline ratio indicate a standard error of mean.
• Figure 3: Modules of the adaptive control of thought-rational (ACT-R) used in the model. This figure is created with reference to anderson2004integrated and Ritter:inpress.
• Figure 4: Block diagram showing basic model processing.
• Figure 5: Schematic explanation on the changes in activation in the probe response. The red line represents the activation of main goal and the blue line represents the activation of subgoal. The solid line represents the activation with the effect of spreading activation added, and the dotted line represents the activation without the effect.