A cognitive model based on representations that are spatial functions

摘要

This paper outlines a cognitive model in which internal representations are spatial functions, and in which the associated process model is governed by distance in psychological space. Motivation for the model comes from the role of similarity judgements in human reasoning, and the apparent ability of humans to create task-dependent features about the concepts used in reasoning. Motivation also comes from the promise that neuroimages might be interpretable in terms of the conceptual tasks in which the person was engaged at the time of imaging. The creation of task-dependent features to aid problem solving is demonstrated in a categorisation task.