Chapter Preview
TopBackground
Behavioral modeling has been influenced by several fields, such as engineering, computer science, psychology, organizational science, economics, and cognitive science. Each of these fields has made contributions which have helped to advance the state of behavioral modeling. A brief review of some contributions made by early pioneers follows, along with comments regarding how their efforts have helped to shape the field. After a historical perspective is presented, recent advances in research are described.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Task Analysis: A process for analyzing a task to understand how it is accomplished. This type of analysis requires identifying goals, constraints, actions, processes (i.e., sequences of steps taken), and information used to complete the task.
Representation: An abstraction that is used as a stand-in for some real-world phenomenon. Often representations are manipulated and examined to learn more about the real-world phenomenon for which they are substitutes.
Grounding: The process used to verify that the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of a model are reasonable. Typically the grounding process is performed by having a subject matter expert review assumptions and processes associated with a model.
Validation: A process used to determine that a model of some real-world phenomenon is appropriately representing the relationships, processes, and/or behavior of the actual phenomenon for a specified context.
Computational Model: A model composed of computable representations and processes that when run for some given set of inputs generates behavior associated with the system being modeled.
Generative Theory: A theory based on a system or systems of processes and representations. The theory is expressed as behavior generated by running the associated system of processes and representations.
Behavioral Model: A model which is a representation of a system and contains essential elements, constraints, goals, embodied knowledge, relationships, and processes needed for generating behavior associated with the modeled system for some given context.