There are 3 assignments:

1. a project report (counts for 40% of final mark)
2. a presentation (counts for 10% of final mark)
3. an essay (counts for 50% of final mark)

Please apply to the COGS school office for their latest instructions regarding the submission of assessed coursework. In the year 2001-2002 the system involved submitting work in the foyer of the COGS building between 2 and 4pm on Thursday of the relevant week. Please make sure that you put your name and major on your work and place it in the appropriate submission box. The written assignments should be typed or word processed (unless special permission has been given).

Assignment 1: Mental Models Project

(i) how a piece of technology works (e.g. mobile phone, computer, internet, telephone, library system);

(ii) a physical location (e.g. university campus, COGS, the library, halls of residence, Brighton).

Stage 1: Finding out about mental models

To study mental models you will need to `interview' 3 people (who are not on the ATCS course), using a techique or techniques you consider most appropriate. Your goal is to try to uncover the following:

• the subjects' mental model of how the technology works in terms of functional aspects
• the subjects' mental model of the spatial layout of the place in terms of structural aspects

Stage 2: Representing mental models as a scientific explanation of how the mind works

You will then need to consider the `raw' data you have collected in terms of how each of the above is represented in the mind (e.g. rules, mental images, propositions, mental animations).

You will need to analyse the data collected and discuss it with respect to a theoretical perspective. In particular, you will need to discuss the difference between different kinds of models and to what extent these can be considered as scientific explanations of what your subjects have told you.

Resources

You should read up about mental models, mental representations and everyday vs scientific explanations.

Particularly useful is Don Norman's paper on mental models (extracts available online). Also of relevance is the chapter from Preece et al.'s book on Human Computer Interaction, extracts also available online.

See also the following.

• Preece, J., Rogers, Y. et al (1994) Human Computer Interaction. (Ch. 5: Knowledge and Mental Models.)
• Johnson-Laird, P. (1983) Mental Models. (Ch. 7, 15)
• Gentner, D. and Stevens, A. (1983) Mental Models. (Ch. 1)
• Aitkenhead, A.M. and Slack, J.M. (1987) (Eds) Issues in Cognitive Modelling. (Ch. 4)
• Rogers, Y., Rutherford, A. and Bibby, P. (1992) Models in the Mind. (Part 5)
• Semin, G. and Gergen, K. (1990) Everyday Understanding (Ch. 1)

A 1500 word write-up of the project is required. It should include:

• Title.This should be a specific title describing your project. It should NOT simply be entitled `mental models project'.
• Introduction. Explain what mental models and mental representations are (showing evidence of reading the relevant literature).
• Aims and objectives. Describe the purpose and goals of your project.
• Method. Describe the methods you have used to elicit the mental models.
• Results. In this section you should present your findings in terms of the kinds of mental models elicited (e.g. structural, functional). In reporting your findings you should describe any commonalities and individual differences across and within subjects. To illustrate your findings you should also include examples of actual data.
• Discussion and Conclusions. You need to discuss your findings at a theoretical level. Do your findings support a particular theoretical claim about the nature of mental models? Do they suggest how knowledge is represented in the mind? If so, how? Other issues to discuss:
• how representative are your findings in relation to how the mind works?
• how much knowledge remains uncovered (i.e. unavailable to conscious inspection).

  Finally, you should discuss how effective your methodology was in eliciting mental models and what further research you could do to find out more about the nature of mental models.

This assignment counts for 40% of the marks for the course.

Assignment 2: Presentation

This assignment counts for 10% of the marks for the course.

Assignment 3: Essay

Cognitive science treats the mind as a machine and thus seeks to express theoretical ideas as computational models that generate the behavior. ... The process of model building encourages a deep understanding of the theory." (D.W. Green & others, Cognitive Science: An Introduction, Blackwell, 1996, p. 19.) Discuss this view in the context of the general methodology of Cognitive Science, and comment on whether the paradigm it describes is valuable in the study of ONE of the following: Psychology OR Artificial Intelligence OR Linguistics OR Philosophy.

This assignment counts for 50% of the marks for the course.