Collaborative Research: Action Dynamics as an Index of Learning and Generalization

传统的认知科学理论往往把心理加工和运动执行看作是心理研究的两个独立领域。与此相反的是，在过去的半个世纪里，人们看到了对大脑的连续的、动态的研究方法的复兴，主张从认知系统平稳过渡到运动子系统。这预示着，可观察到的行动的动态特征将直接反映潜在的思维过程。为了支持这一点，最近的研究表明，对运动动作的持续跟踪可以提供有关产生运动的心理过程的丰富信息。在国家科学基金会的支持下，里克·戴尔博士和迈克尔·斯皮维博士将探索行动动力学如何为人类学习提供启示。通过跟踪计算机鼠标的轨迹，戴尔和斯皮维的目标是揭示动作动力学是如何随着人们的学习而演变的。几个基于计算机的多项选择实验将使用不同复杂程度的任务，从简单的联想学习(例如，配对符号)到从文本中获取知识。这类措施将补充基于离散答案的传统业绩变量。这些研究还可以进一步了解思想和行动之间的密切联系。此外，这项工作还可以为如何最好地使计算机系统适应教育提供见解：通过对计算机鼠标移动的自动分析，这些适应的系统可以检测到学习者缺乏信心或深度理解等状态，并可以实时适当地应对这些潜在的缺陷，从而增强学习。

Traditional theories in cognitive science often see mental processing and motor execution as separate domains of psychological investigation. In opposition to this, the past half-century has seen a resurgence of continuous and dynamical approaches to the mind, arguing for a smooth transition from cognitive into motor subsystems. This predicts that the dynamic characteristics of observable action will directly reflect underlying thought processes. In support of this, much recent research has shown that continuous tracking of motor movement can provide rich information about the mental processing giving rise to it. With support of the National Science Foundation, Drs. Rick Dale and Michael Spivey will explore how action dynamics can shed light on human learning. By tracking computer-mouse trajectories, Dale and Spivey aim to uncover how action dynamics evolve as people learn. Several multi-choice, computer-based experiments will employ tasks of varying complexity, from simple associative learning (e.g., pairing symbols) to acquiring knowledge from text. Such measures would supplement traditional performance variables based on discrete answers. These studies can also provide a further understanding of the intimate connection between thought and action. In addition, the work can provide insights about how best to adapt computer systems for education: Through automatic analysis of computer-mouse movements, these adapted systems could detect such states as lack of learner confidence or deep understanding, and could appropriately respond to these potential deficits in real time, and thereby enhance learning.