Wednesday March 18, 16:15-17:15

Implicit Memory in the ACT-R Theory

John R. Anderson

(Carnegie Mellon University, United States)

ACT-R is a "hybrid " theory which consists of both a symbolic and a subsymbolic level of information processing. The symbolic level provides the overall structure and organization to cognition. However, the subsymbolic level strongly modulates the execution of the steps of cognition at the symbolic level. With respect to many phenomena of implicit memory the critical part of the ACT-R theory proves to be activation processes in declarative memory. Prior experiences can change the strengths of association among declarative memory elements(chunks) and the base level activations of these chunks. These changes in the continous valued subsymbolic parameters of the system can change the course and content of cognition. I will describe the application of the ACT-R theory to a number of phenomena particluarly from list-memory paradigms.