Solving Large Problems with a Small Working Memory

Pizlo, Zygmunt; Stefanov, Emil

doi:10.7771/1932-6246.1155

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…One promising lead comes from applications of complexity theory to cognition. For example, it has been demonstrated that spatial information processing in perception, attention, memory, and problem solving all involve a common algorithm based in grouping (Graham et al, 2000; Pizlo and Stefanov, 2013). All these functions operate by dividing a defined problem space into related clusters prior to local analysis (e.g., in PO - subsets of visual features likely to represent different objects; in selective attention - subsets of auditory or visual stimuli to group apart from others; in problem solving – dividing a larger task into coherent subtasks that can be completed efficiently, etc.).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is disorganization a feature of schizophrenia or a modifying influence: Evidence of covariation of perceptual and cognitive organization in a non-patient sample

Feigenson

Gara

Roché

et al. 2014

Psychiatry Research

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A subgroup of people with schizophrenia is characterized by reduced organization in perception, thought, language, and motor functioning, and these impairments covary significantly. While this may reflect multiple expressions of an illness-related core processing impairment, it may also represent the extreme end of an organization-disorganization dimension that is found throughout the general population. In this view, disorganization is a modifying influence on illness expression. To obtain preliminary information on this hypothesis, we examined covariation of perceptual and cognitive organization in a non-patient sample. Subjects completed a battery of perceptual tasks with demonstrated sensitivity to schizophrenia and disorganization, and a battery of questionnaires examining cognitive organization. Our results indicated that level of perceptual organization ability, across multiple tasks, was associated with self-reported levels of cognitive organization on multiple measures. This is thus preliminary evidence for a common process affecting perceptual and cognitive organization in the general population, suggesting that disorganization may reflect a modifying influence mechanism, instead of an illness-related process, in schizophrenia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is disorganization a feature of schizophrenia or a modifying influence: Evidence of covariation of perceptual and cognitive organization in a non-patient sample

Feigenson

Gara

Roché

et al. 2014

Psychiatry Research

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show abstract

“…Results indicated that participants could find near-optimal solutions quickly in such a paradigm, suggesting that these decisions used shortcuts. This interpretation was further supported by the authors’ computational models which used a hierarchical clustering structure similar to how the visual system processes incoming information ( Pizlo and Stefanov, 2013 ). In this light, individual differences in demand avoidance may reflect these different strategies, with some individuals choosing a higher demanding option if they find this effort may instead save computational processing of making decisions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…These heuristics were theorized to be formed using available cues from past and current experiences and used for updating the value of these cues based on the ensuing outcome of a selected (and performed) action ( Payne et al, 1993 ). For example, one way to investigate these strategy formations is by using a computationally intractable problem or one that needs an unreasonable amount of time and effort to process every available piece of information in a problem ( Pizlo and Stefanov, 2013 ). Results indicated that participants could find near-optimal solutions quickly in such a paradigm, suggesting that these decisions used shortcuts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of intrinsic motivation and capability-related factors in cognitive effort-based decision-making

Randez,

Hélie

2024

Front. Psychol.

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Individual differences in cognitive effort-based decision-making can be used to reveal human motivations to invest effort into a given task. Preferences among options that differ by dimensions related to demand levels (i.e., the interaction of task characteristics and performance measures) are also heavily influenced by how likely a person can succeed at a given option. However, most existing cognitive effort-based research has focused primarily on demand-related factors, leading to confounding inferences about the motivation behind these choices. This study used an adaptive algorithm to adjust relative demand levels for three cognitive tasks to investigate general and individual differences in demand preferences. The results highlight an overall pattern of individual differences in intrinsic motivation to perform challenging tasks, supporting research that found cognitive effort aversive to some but attractive to others. These results suggest that relative demand levels and intrinsic task factors drive the motivation to select an action.

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Traveling Salesperson Problem with Simple Obstacles: The Role of Multidimensional Scaling and the Role of Clustering

et al. 2022

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The objective of the traveling salesperson problem (TSP) is to find a shortest tour through all nodes in a graph. Euclidean TSPs are traditionally represented with “cities” placed on a 2D plane. When straight line obstacles are added to the plane, a tour has to visit all cities while going around obstacles. The resulting problem with obstacles remains metric, but is not Euclidean because the shortest paths are no longer straight lines. We first revise a previous version of multiresolution graph pyramid by modifying the hierarchical clustering stage. Next, we describe two new experiments with human subjects. In the first experiment, the effect of the length of obstacles on the quality of tours produced by subjects was tested with three problem sizes. Long obstacles affect the tours to a greater degree than short obstacles, but long obstacles create obvious clusters and limit the ways in which the tours can be produced. In the second experiment we evaluated the degree to which Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) can compensate for the presence of obstacles. The results show that although MDS approximation can compensate to a large degree for the presence of obstacles, it cannot fully account for human performance. This fact suggests that mental representation of a TSP with obstacles is not Euclidean. Instead, it is likely to be based on hierarchical clustering in which pairwise distances represent the shortest paths around obstacles.

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Solving Large Problems with a Small Working Memory

Cited by 5 publications

References 20 publications

Is disorganization a feature of schizophrenia or a modifying influence: Evidence of covariation of perceptual and cognitive organization in a non-patient sample

Is disorganization a feature of schizophrenia or a modifying influence: Evidence of covariation of perceptual and cognitive organization in a non-patient sample

The roles of intrinsic motivation and capability-related factors in cognitive effort-based decision-making

Traveling Salesperson Problem with Simple Obstacles: The Role of Multidimensional Scaling and the Role of Clustering

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