CHREST
Encyclopedia
CHREST is a symbolic cognitive architecture
based on the concepts of limited attention, limited short-term memories, and chunking
. Learning, which is essential in the architecture, is modelled as the development of a network of nodes (chunks) which are connected in various ways. This can be contrasted with Soar
and ACT-R
, two other cognitive architectures, which use productions for representing knowledge. CHREST has often been used to model learning using large corpora of stimuli representative of the domain, such as chess games for the simulation of chess expertise or child-directed speech for the simulation of children’s development of language. In this respect, the simulations carried out with CHREST have a flavor closer to those carried out with connectionist models
than with traditional symbolic models.
The architecture contains a number of capacity parameters (e.g., capacity of visual short-term memory, set at three chunks) and time parameters (e.g., time to learn a chunk or time to put information into short-term memory). This makes it possible to derive precise and quantitative predictions about human behaviour.
Models based on CHREST have been used, among other things, to simulate data on the acquisition of chess expertise from novice to grandmaster, children’s acquisition of vocabulary
, children’s acquisition of syntactic structures
, and concept formation.
CHREST is developed by Fernand Gobet
at Brunel University
and Peter C. Lane at the University of Hertfordshire
. It is the successor of EPAM
, a cognitive model originally developed by Herbert Simon
and Edward Feigenbaum
.
Cognitive architecture
A cognitive architecture is a blueprint for intelligent agents. It proposes computational processes that act like certain cognitive systems, most often, like a person, or acts intelligent under some definition. Cognitive architectures form a subset of general agent architectures...
based on the concepts of limited attention, limited short-term memories, and chunking
Chunking
Chunking may mean:* Chunking , a short-term memory mechanism and techniques to exploit it* Chunking , a method of splitting content into short, easily scannable elements, especially for web audiences...
. Learning, which is essential in the architecture, is modelled as the development of a network of nodes (chunks) which are connected in various ways. This can be contrasted with Soar
Soar (cognitive architecture)
Soar is a symbolic cognitive architecture, created by John Laird, Allen Newell, and Paul Rosenbloom at Carnegie Mellon University, now maintained by John Laird's research group at the University of Michigan. It is both a view of what cognition is and an implementation of that view through a...
and ACT-R
ACT-R
ACT-R is a cognitive architecture mainly developed by John Robert Anderson at Carnegie Mellon University. Like any cognitive architecture, ACT-R aims to define the basic and irreducible cognitive and perceptual operations that enable the human mind....
, two other cognitive architectures, which use productions for representing knowledge. CHREST has often been used to model learning using large corpora of stimuli representative of the domain, such as chess games for the simulation of chess expertise or child-directed speech for the simulation of children’s development of language. In this respect, the simulations carried out with CHREST have a flavor closer to those carried out with connectionist models
Connectionism
Connectionism is a set of approaches in the fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and philosophy of mind, that models mental or behavioral phenomena as the emergent processes of interconnected networks of simple units...
than with traditional symbolic models.
The architecture contains a number of capacity parameters (e.g., capacity of visual short-term memory, set at three chunks) and time parameters (e.g., time to learn a chunk or time to put information into short-term memory). This makes it possible to derive precise and quantitative predictions about human behaviour.
Models based on CHREST have been used, among other things, to simulate data on the acquisition of chess expertise from novice to grandmaster, children’s acquisition of vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
, children’s acquisition of syntactic structures
Syntactic Structures
Syntactic Structures is an seminal book in linguistics by American linguist Noam Chomsky, first published in 1957. It laid the foundation of Chomsky's idea of transformational grammar...
, and concept formation.
CHREST is developed by Fernand Gobet
Fernand Gobet
Fernand Gobet is a cognitive scientist and a cognitive psychologist, currently Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Brunel University. His research interests focus on the study of cognition, especially in the areas of cognitive architectures, perception, intuition, problem solving, learning and...
at Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
and Peter C. Lane at the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
. It is the successor of EPAM
EPAM
EPAM is a psychological theory of learning and memory implemented as a computer program. Originally designed by Herbert Simon and Edward Feigenbaum to simulate phenomena in verbal learning, it has been later adapted to account for data on the psychology of expertise and concept formation. It was...
, a cognitive model originally developed by Herbert Simon
Herbert Simon
Herbert Alexander Simon was an American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist, and professor—most notably at Carnegie Mellon University—whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, public administration, economics,...
and Edward Feigenbaum
Edward Feigenbaum
Edward Albert Feigenbaum is a computer scientist working in the field of artificial intelligence. He is often called the "father of expert systems."...
.