Cognitive Architectures (CAs) are the core of artificial cognitive systems. A CA is supposed to specify the human brain at a level of abstraction suitable for explaining how it achieves the functions of the mind. Over the years a number of distinct CAs have been proposed by different authors and their limitations and potentials were investigated. These CAs are usually classified as symbolic and...

This article presents new results on implementing mental imagery within the Sigma cognitive architecture. Rather than amounting to a distinct module, mental imagery is based on the same primitive, hybrid mixed, architectural mechanisms as Sigma’s other cognitive capabilities. The work here demonstrates the creation and modification of compound images, the transformation of individual objects wi...

The cognitive architecture and function of co-speech gesture has been the subject of a large body of research. We investigate two main questions in this field, namely, whether language and gesture are the same or two inter-related systems, and whether gestures help resolve speech problems, by examining the relationship between gesture and disfluency in neurotypical speakers. Our results support...

Evidence for the superiority of guided instruction is explained in the context of our knowledge of human cognitive architecture, expert–novice differences, and cognitive load. Although unguided or minimally guided instructional approaches are very popular and intuitively appealing, the point is made that these approaches ignore both the structures that constitute human cognitive architecture an...

In this paper, we examine the motivations for research on cognitive architectures and review some candidates that have been explored in the literature. After this, we consider the capabilities that a cognitive architecture should support, some properties that it should exhibit related to representation, organization, performance, and learning, and some criteria for evaluating such architectures...

Cognitive load theory is an instructional theory that uses our knowledge of human cognitive architecture, especially processing limitations of working memory, to enhance effectiveness of instructional design. This paper reviews main assumptions and principles of cognitive load theory and discusses their application to technology-based learning environments. The paper concludes with a brief intr...