CLARION (cognitive architecture)
Encyclopedia
Connectionist Learning with Adaptive Rule Induction ON-line (CLARION) is a cognitive architecture
that incorporates the distinction between implicit
and explicit
processes and focuses on capturing the interaction between these two types of processes. By focusing on this distinction, CLARION has been used to simulate several tasks in cognitive psychology
and social psychology
. CLARION has also been used to implement intelligent systems
in artificial intelligence
applications. It was created by the research group led by Ron Sun
.
Other applications of the cognitive architecture include simulation of creativity
and addressing the computational basis of consciousness
(or artificial consciousness
).
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...
that incorporates the distinction between implicit
Implicit memory
Implicit memory is a type of memory in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences. Evidence for implicit memory arises in priming, a process whereby subjects show improved performance on tasks for which they have been...
and explicit
Explicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been or can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others. The information contained in encyclopedias are good examples of explicit knowledge....
processes and focuses on capturing the interaction between these two types of processes. By focusing on this distinction, CLARION has been used to simulate several tasks in cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
and social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
. CLARION has also been used to implement intelligent systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....
in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
applications. It was created by the research group led by Ron Sun
Ron Sun
Ron Sun is a cognitive scientist and currently Professor of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and formerly the James C. Dowell Professor of Engineering and Professor of Computer Science at University of Missouri...
.
Overview of CLARION
CLARION is an integrative architecture, consisting of a number of distinct subsystems, with a dual representational structure in each subsystem (implicit versus explicit representations). Its subsystems include the action-centered subsystem, the non-action-centered subsystem, the motivational subsystem, and the meta-cognitive subsystem.- The role of the action-centered subsystem is to control actions;
- The role of the non-action-centered subsystem is to maintain general knowledge;
- The role of the motivational subsystem is to provide underlying motivationMotivationMotivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
s for perception, action, and cognition; - The role of the meta-cognitive subsystem is to monitor, direct, and modify the operations of all the other subsystems.
Comparison with other cognitive architectures
- ACT-RACT-RACT-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....
employs a division between procedural and declarative memory that is somewhat similar to CLARION’s distinction between the Action-Centered Subsystem and the Non-Action-Centered Subsystem. However, ACT-R does not have a clear-cut (process-based or representation-based) distinction between implicit and explicit processes, which is a fundamental assumption in the CLARION theory.
- SoarSoar (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...
does not include a clear representation-based or process-based difference between implicit and explicit cognition, or between procedural and declarative memory; it is based on the ideas of problem spaces, states, and operators. When there is an outstanding goal on the goal stack, different productions propose different operators and operator preferences for accomplishing the goal.
- EPICEPIC (cognitive architecture)EPIC is a cognitive architecture developed by Professors David E. Kieras and David E. Meyer at the University of Michigan ....
adopts a production system similar to ACT-R’s. However, it does not include the dichotomy of implicit and explicit processes, which is essential in CLARION.
Theoretical Applications of CLARION
CLARION has been used to account for a variety of psychological data, such as the serial reaction time task, the artificial grammar learning task, the process control task, a categorical inference task, an alphabetical arithmetic task, and the Tower of Hanoi task. The serial reaction time and process control tasks are typical implicit learning tasks (mainly involving implicit reactive routines), while the Tower of Hanoi and alphabetic arithmetic are high-level cognitive skill acquisition tasks (with a significant presence of explicit processes). In addition, extensive work has been done on a complex minefield navigation task, which involves complex sequential decision-making. Work on organizational decision tasks, and other social simulation tasks, as well as meta-cognitive tasks, has also been initiated.Other applications of the cognitive architecture include simulation of creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
and addressing the computational basis of consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
(or artificial consciousness
Artificial consciousness
Artificial consciousness , also known as machine consciousness or synthetic consciousness, is a field related to artificial intelligence and cognitive robotics whose aim is to define that which would have to be synthesized were consciousness to be found in an engineered artifact .Neuroscience...
).