TY - GEN
T1 - Extending ACT-R to Better Support Individual Differences
AU - Serdiuk, Serhii
AU - Ritter, Frank E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - In this paper we consider what remains to create a unified theory of cognition, updating Newell’s [1] report. We examine ACT-R as a new exemplar. After quickly summarizing what has been covered, we create a new schematic for ACT-R to add capabilities and mechanisms for a 5 to 10-year research plan. This includes more meso-level features of cognition and high-level aspects of cognition (that will inevitably increase the functionality while decreasing the usability of ACT-R unless features can be turned off). We suggest integrating more aspects of physiology and psychology as well as more social aspects. To accomplish this, we introduce six new functional modules. These additions enable the architecture to account for physiological and emotional conditions, stable personal traits, value-based evaluations, experiential learning, and gradual behavioral change. As a result, this extended ACT-R architecture offers a more comprehensive and flexible model of human cognition, bridging previously underrepresented areas of psychology, physiology, and behavior.
AB - In this paper we consider what remains to create a unified theory of cognition, updating Newell’s [1] report. We examine ACT-R as a new exemplar. After quickly summarizing what has been covered, we create a new schematic for ACT-R to add capabilities and mechanisms for a 5 to 10-year research plan. This includes more meso-level features of cognition and high-level aspects of cognition (that will inevitably increase the functionality while decreasing the usability of ACT-R unless features can be turned off). We suggest integrating more aspects of physiology and psychology as well as more social aspects. To accomplish this, we introduce six new functional modules. These additions enable the architecture to account for physiological and emotional conditions, stable personal traits, value-based evaluations, experiential learning, and gradual behavioral change. As a result, this extended ACT-R architecture offers a more comprehensive and flexible model of human cognition, bridging previously underrepresented areas of psychology, physiology, and behavior.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105020023127
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105020023127#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-07715-8_15
DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-07715-8_15
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105020023127
SN - 9783032077141
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science
SP - 152
EP - 162
BT - Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Modeling - 18th International Conference, SBP-BRiMS 2025, Proceedings
A2 - Thomson, Robert
A2 - Pyke, Aryn A
A2 - Renshaw, Scott
A2 - Park, Patrick
A2 - Al-khateeb, Samer
A2 - Burger, Annetta
PB - Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
T2 - 18th International Conference on Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction and Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation, SBP-BRiMS 2025
Y2 - 14 October 2025 through 17 October 2025
ER -