Adversarial Problem Solving: Modeling an Oponent Using Explanatory Coherence

Many problem-solving tasks involve other people. Often, accomplishment of a task requires coordination with others, an enterprise that might be called cooperative problem solving. Unfortunately, however, we also face problems that require us t6 take into account the actions of opponents; this is adversarial problem solving (APS). Both kinds of social problem solving have been relatively neglected by cognitive science researchers who typically investigate people’s performance on nonsocial problems. This article investigates the cognitive processes required for APS in which one must anticipate and understand the actions of an opponent. A review of several domains of APS-military strategy, business, and game playing-