Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026
13:40
Combining Computer Game-Based Behavioural Experiments With High-Density EEG and Infrared Gaze Tracking
Published on: December 16, 2010
17.3K
Game-XP: Action Games as Experimental Paradigms for Cognitive Science
1Cognitive Science Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Topics in Cognitive Science
|March 16, 2017
Summary
Action games offer a complex experimental paradigm for advancing Cognitive Science. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of human cognition across all expertise levels, moving beyond novice performance studies.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Experimental Psychology
- Human Behavior Studies
Background:
- Cognitive Science needs robust experimental paradigms to explain complex human behavior.
- Allen Newell proposed focusing on single, complex tasks to advance the field.
- Traditional experimental psychology often focuses on simplified tasks and novice performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To advocate for action games as a suitable experimental paradigm for Cognitive Science.
- To explore how action games can be used to study the full spectrum of human expertise.
- To align with Newell's vision of developing comprehensive theories of human cognition.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing action games as a complex experimental task.
- Employing expertise sampling across individuals to capture diverse skill levels.
- Conducting longitudinal studies within individuals to track cognitive development.
- Leveraging Big Data and naturally occurring datasets.
Main Results:
- Action games provide a "genuine slab of human behavior" for study.
- This paradigm facilitates the development of theories accounting for expertise.
- It enables a move from studying novice performance to understanding expert cognition.
Conclusions:
- Action games are a powerful tool for advancing Cognitive Science.
- This approach allows for a more holistic understanding of human cognitive abilities.
- Future research should embrace complex tasks like action games to build comprehensive cognitive theories.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Cognitivism
3.3K
Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...
3.3K
01:24Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
260
The development of self in children is deeply rooted in social interactions, mainly through stages of play and structured games. These stages, outlined by sociologist George Herbert Mead, illustrate how children progressively learn to understand and adopt social roles, forming a cohesive sense of self.The Play Stage: Imitation and Simple Role-TakingIn the early years of childhood, the play stage is characterized by imitative behavior, where children engage in role-playing based on familiar...
260
01:20Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
2.9K
Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
2.9K
01:21Cognitive Learning
1.5K
Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
1.5K
01:16Experimental Designs
18.4K
An experimental design is a systematic process that allows researchers to evaluate the relationship between dependent and independent variables. There are three widely used types of experimental design - pre-experimental design, true experimental design, and quasi-experimental design. In pre-experimental design, the researcher compares the data before and after some interventions or treatments. The true-experimental design has more than one purposefully created group, a commonly measured...
18.4K
01:24Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
357
A revisionist approach to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has brought new insights that challenge and reinterpret his established ideas. Piaget proposed that the formal operational stage, emerging in adolescence, represents the culmination of cognitive maturity. During this stage, individuals are said to develop abstract thinking, engage in systematic problem-solving, and show a form of egocentrism, believing others are as preoccupied with their behavior as they are...
357