Papers by Richard P Cooper
Random number generation (RNG) is a complex cognitive task for human subjects, requiring delibera... more Random number generation (RNG) is a complex cognitive task for human subjects, requiring deliberative control to avoid production of habitual, stereotyped sequences. Under various manipulations (e.g., speeded responding, transcranial magnetic stimulation, or neurological damage) the performance of human subjects deteriorates, as reflected in a number of qualitatively distinct, dissociable biases. For example, the intrusion of stereotyped behavior (e.g., counting) increases at faster rates of generation. Theoretical accounts of the task postulate that it requires the integrated operation of multiple, computationally heterogeneous cognitive control (" executive ") processes. We present a computational model of RNG, within the framework of a novel, neuropsychologically-inspired cognitive architecture, ESPro. Manipulating the rate of sequence generation in the model reproduced a number of key effects observed in empirical studies, including increasing sequence stereotypy at faster rates. Within the model, this was due to time limitations on the interaction of supervisory control processes, namely, task setting, proposal of responses, monitoring, and response inhibition. The model thus supports the fractionation of executive function into multiple, computationally heterogeneous processes.
The crux of the debate between ourselves and Bertenthal and Scheutz (2013) (B&S) is whether imita... more The crux of the debate between ourselves and Bertenthal and Scheutz (2013) (B&S) is whether imitative compatibility effects reflect the operation of specialized imitation-related mechanisms or instead arise from the same associative learning processes thought to underlie spatial compatibility effects. Our conclusions were, and remain, more modest than B&S imply. We do not claim that our model rules out the possibility that spatial and imitative compatibility depend on qualitatively distinct processes, but we believe it supports a " same mechanisms " over a " different mechanisms " view. 1. Strategic factors Bertenthal, Longo, and Kosobud (2006) analyzed time course within blocks and found a difference between spatial and imitative effects. Catmur and Heyes (2011) analyzed time course across an entire experiment and failed to find an interaction between block and spatial/imitative compatibility effects. We agree with B&S that there is no direct conflict between these two results; the latter does not make the former any less likely to be a genuine and reliable effect. Rather, we argued that the second result supports the view the first was due to strategic responding resulting from presentation of compatible and incompatible trials in separate blocks. B&S asserted that this was not the case but, as far as we can see, did not bring further evidence to bear on this issue.
Automatic imitation or ''imitative compatibility'' is thought to be mediated by the mirror neuron... more Automatic imitation or ''imitative compatibility'' is thought to be mediated by the mirror neuron system and to be a laboratory model of the motor mimicry that occurs spontaneously in naturalistic social interaction. Imitative compatibility and spatial compatibility effects are known to depend on different stimulus dimensions—body movement topography and relative spatial position. However, it is not yet clear whether these two types of stimulus–response compatibility effect are mediated by the same or different cognitive processes. We present an interactive activation model of imitative and spatial compatibility, based on a dual-route architecture, which substantiates the view they are mediated by processes of the same kind. The model, which is in many ways a standard application of the interactive activation approach, simulates all key results of a recent study by Catmur and Heyes (2011). Specifically, it captures the difference in the relative size of imitative and spatial compatibility effects; the lack of interaction when the imperative and irrelevant stimuli are presented simultaneously ; the relative speed of responses in a quintile analysis when the imperative and irrelevant stimuli are presented simultaneously; and the different time courses of the compatibility effects when the imperative and irrelevant stimuli are presented asynchronously.
Behavioural studies of individual differences have shown mild but significant correlations in per... more Behavioural studies of individual differences have shown mild but significant correlations in performance on tasks that require the withholding of a response to a prepotent stimulus, i.e., on so-called response inhibition tasks. Several computational models of response inhibition tasks have been developed, but the dominant models of such tasks have been produced in isolation of each other. Consequently they fail to present a coherent unitary picture of response inhibition. In this paper we consider two established interactive activation models of distinct response inhibition tasks – the stop signal task and the Stroop task – and explore potential mechanisms within those models that might underlie the observed behavioural correlation. Only one plausible account of the correlation emerges: that it results from shared mechanisms of attentional bias. This account does not map onto the classical concept of response inhibition. It is concluded that either the accepted models are flawed or that the concept of response inhibition as applied to these tasks is misleading (and hence counterproductive). More generally the work may be taken to support an architectural approach to modelling, albeit at the level of interactive activation models, rather than the more traditional production system models.
When asked to generate sequences of random responses, people exhibit strong and reliable biases i... more When asked to generate sequences of random responses, people exhibit strong and reliable biases in their behaviour. The origins of these biases have been linked to the operation of so-called executive functions through empirical studies varying, e.g., rate of production, modality of response, and (in dual task conditions) secondary task. We present a computational process model of random generation that accounts for a broad range of these empirical effects. The model, which operationalises a previous verbal account of random generation, is grounded in both the cognitive architectures and the executive functions literatures. As such, it instantiates a hypothesis concerning the interaction of multiple distinct executive functions in the generation of complex behaviour. In particular, it is argued on the basis of simulations of empirical findings that three cognitive factors play separable roles in random generation behaviour: cognitive load, which when high exacerbates underlying biases in a generation stage, monitoring, which when impaired results in greater inequality of response usage, and set-shifting, which when impaired results in less frequent switching between response schemas.
It has been suggested that the enterprise of developing mechanistic theories of the human cogniti... more It has been suggested that the enterprise of developing mechanistic theories of the human cognitive architecture is flawed because the theories produced are not directly falsifiable. Newell attempted to sidestep this criticism by arguing for a Lakatosian model of scientific progress in which cognitive architectures should be understood as theories that develop over time. However, Newell's own candidate cognitive architecture adhered only loosely to Lakatosian principles. This paper reconsiders the role of falsification and the potential utility of Lakatosian principles in the development of cognitive architectures. It is argued that a lack of direct falsifiability need not undermine the scientific development of a cognitive architecture if broadly Lakatosian principles are adopted. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the Lakatosian concepts of positive and negative heuristics for theory development and of general heuristic power offer methods for guiding the development of an architecture and for evaluating the contribution and potential of an architecture's research program.
Recent research has shown that stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) effects can be modulated by ... more Recent research has shown that stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) effects can be modulated by the emotional state of the participant and, more specifically, that the SRC effect is larger when aversive emotional stimulation precedes the seen movement [Rumiati, R. I. & Grecucci, A. (submitted for publication). On the emotional modulation of action]. In the present study, we propose that this effect arises from four assumptions: First, that the cortical representations subserving observation and execution of the same actions overlap and resonate; second, that graded persistence of activation due to observed movement facilitates subsequent movement execution; third, that movement representations that are similar but different compete for activation; and fourth, that aversive emotional states enhance the processing of events. By means of a set of simulations, we demonstrate that each of these assumptions plays a critical role in capturing the compatibility effect and its emotional modulation. We further employ the model to clarify the debate between syn-ergistic and competitive views of cognition/emotion interactions, and demonstrate how emotionally-driven stimulus–response compatibility effects may be modulated by task demands, thus offering a possible resolution to the long-standing debate between synergistic and competitive interactions between emotion and cognition.
This study takes as its starting point evidence that stimulus-response compatibility effects can ... more This study takes as its starting point evidence that stimulus-response compatibility effects can be modulated by the emotional state of the participants (Grecucci and Rumiati, in preparation). We consider the effect to arise from the interaction of four assumptions: 1) that the cortical representations which subserve observation and execution of the same actions overlap and resonate; 2) that graded persistence of activation due to observing a movement facilitates the subsequent execution of that movement; 3) that representations of similar movements compete for activation and 4) that aversive emotional states enhance the processing of events. By means of a series of simulations we demonstrated that each of these assumptions plays a critical role in capturing the stimulus-response compatibility effect and its emotional modulation.
... Is there a Place for Semantic Similarity in the Analogical Mapping Process? Michael Ramscar a... more ... Is there a Place for Semantic Similarity in the Analogical Mapping Process? Michael Ramscar and Helen Pain Department of Artificial Intelligence University of Edinburgh {michael, helen}@aisb.ed.ac.uk, Richard Cooper Department ...
... Is there a Place for Semantic Similarity in the Analogical Mapping Process? Michael Ramscar a... more ... Is there a Place for Semantic Similarity in the Analogical Mapping Process? Michael Ramscar and Helen Pain Department of Artificial Intelligence University of Edinburgh {michael, helen}@aisb.ed.ac.uk, Richard Cooper Department ...
Artificial Intelligence, 1996
Cognitive Neuropsychology, 2011
We would like to thank Coltheart for the supportive and stimulating way in which his critique of ... more We would like to thank Coltheart for the supportive and stimulating way in which his critique of our book is written. There are many things over which he and we are in agreement, in particular over the importance of the cognitive level of theorising. Moreover, we would both appear to hold that to rely on behavioural experimentation on normal adults alone would probably prove insufficient to advance cognitive theory rapidly. Some types of brain-related evidence will be required in addition. Where we differ is on what type of brain-related evidence this should be. Coltheart would appear to want to limit relevant brain-related evidence principally to neuropsychological findings, but we want to extend it to the results of other cognitive neuroscience methodologies, and in particular to functional imaging.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2013
Two views on the semantics of concrete words are that their core mental representations are featu... more Two views on the semantics of concrete words are that their core mental representations are feature-based or are reconstructions of sensory experience. We argue that neither of these approaches is capable of representing the semantics of abstract words, which involve the representation of possibly hypothetical physical and mental states, the binding of entities within a structure, and the possible use of embedding (or recursion) in such structures. Brain based evidence in the form of dissociations between deficits related to concrete and abstract semantics corroborates the hypothesis. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that left lateral inferior frontal cortex supports those processes responsible for the representation of abstract words.
Cognitive Neuropsychology, 2005
Birkbeck ePrints: an open access repository of the research output of Birkbeck College http://epr... more Birkbeck ePrints: an open access repository of the research output of Birkbeck College http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk Cooper, R. P.; Schwartz, M.; Yule, P. and Shallice, T. (2005). The simulation of action disorganisation in complex activities of daily living. Cognitive Neuropsychology 22 (8) 959-1004.
Psychological Review, 2006
Traditional accounts of sequential behavior assume that schemas and goals play a causal role in t... more Traditional accounts of sequential behavior assume that schemas and goals play a causal role in the control of behavior. In contrast, M. argued that, at least in routine behavior, schemas and goals are epiphenomenal. The authors evaluate the Botvinick and Plaut account by contrasting the simple recurrent network model of Botvinick and Plaut with their own more traditional hierarchically structured interactive activation model (R. P. . The authors present a range of arguments and additional simulations that demonstrate theoretical and empirical difficulties for both Botvinick and Plaut's model and their theoretical position. The authors conclude that explicit hierarchically organized and causally efficacious schema and goal representations are required to provide an adequate account of the flexibility of sequential behavior. We are grateful to Nicolas Ruh for many helpful discussions of the simple recurrent network (SRN) model, particularly in relation to the role of the training set in shaping the model's attractors and the role of the resulting context representations in the SRN model's implementation of choice. We are also grateful to Gordon Brown for his comments on the effect of rate of production on error profiles, to Matthew Botvinick for providing additional details of his implementation of the SRN model and for insightful comments on an earlier draft of this article, and to Padraic Monaghan for insightful comments on an earlier draft of this article.
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Papers by Richard P Cooper