iModelSpace

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Currently, formal approaches and cognitive models that solve constraint satisfaction problems for spatial domains do not have much in common. It is mainly due to the opacity of the human reasoning processes that there is no common base and no algorithmic specification of the way how humans reason about space. This, however, is utterly important for a successful human-machine interaction. Moreover, specific assumptions on these aspects will also provide the basis for a cognitive complexity theory for spatial problems. Throughout this strategic project, we will (i) investigate the preconditions of how the two computational and cognitive models CASIMIR (Barkowsky, 2007) and SRM (Ragni, Knauff, & Nebel, 2005) can be integrated within a more general framework. Both models focus on different aspects of spatial reasoning. For this integration we will compile a (ii) catalogue of psychological effects that are to be explained by the resulting integrated model to serve as a benchmark. The resulting computational and cognitive model serves as a starting point for future complexity investigations. Furthermore, we will perform (iii) empirical investigations on reasoning complexity, and on (iv) differences in the construction of preferred mental models between small-scale and large- scale spaces in cooperation with project R1-[ImageSpace]. Performing psychological investigations, we aim at providing a preliminary basis for formal investigations using techniques that were developed in the field of Artificial Intelligence to develop a formal and cognitive spatial complexity theory – relevant for the human spatial reasoning and representation part of the SFB/TR 8.

Start of project: 01.02.2008
End of project: 31.07.2009

Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Ragni M, Strube G, Barkowsky T
Institut für Psychologie
Abt. Kognitionswissenschaft und Genderforschung
Hebelstr. 10
79104 Freiburg i. Br.
Germany

Phone: 0761 / 2034933
Fax: 0761 / 2034938
Email: sekretariat@cognition.uni-freiburg.de
http://portal.uni-freiburg.de/cognition/
Actual Research Report

• Steffenhagen F
• Fangmeier T