Cognitive Task

A Cognitive Task is an intelligence task that requires relatively advanced cognitive dexterity to process information, manipulate mental representations, and apply cognitive processes to achieve specific goals.

AKA: Cognition-Requiring Task, Conceptual Task, Mental Task.
Context:
- Input: Mental State
  - optional: task parameters
  - optional: cognitive constraints
- Output: Modified Mental State
- Measure: Cognition Performance Measure
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- It can typically be performed by a Cognitive Agent, including human knowledge workers and artificial intelligence systems.
- It can typically require Mental Processing through cognitive operations and cognitive mechanisms.
- It can typically involve Cognitive Functions including cognitive attention, cognitive memory, cognitive perception, and cognitive executive control.
- It can typically engage Information Manipulation through cognitive transformations and cognitive computations.
- It can typically demand Mental Resource Allocation based on cognitive task difficulty and cognitive processing requirements.
- It can typically produce Mental Outputs in the form of cognitive decisions, cognitive solutions, or cognitive understanding.
- It can typically follow Cognitive Workflow patterns based on cognitive task structure and cognitive goal orientation.
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- It can contain Learning Tasks requiring cognitive knowledge acquisition and cognitive skill development.
- It can often include Reasoning Tasks involving cognitive inference generation and cognitive conclusion formation.
- It can often incorporate Problem-Solving Tasks demanding cognitive solution generation and cognitive obstacle navigation.
- It can often require Metacognitive Regulation through cognitive strategy selection and cognitive progress monitoring.
- It can often involve Executive Function Tasks such as cognitive inhibition, cognitive task-switching, and cognitive working memory updating.
- It can often necessitate Information Integration across multiple cognitive domains and cognitive knowledge structures.
- It can often employ Cognitive Strategy selection based on cognitive task demands and cognitive solution pathways.
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- It can range from being a Routine Cognitive Task to being a Complex Cognitive Task, depending on its cognitive complexity, cognitive novelty, and cognitive processing demand.
- It can range from being a Human-Performed Cognitive Task to being an AI-Performed Task, depending on its execution agent, cognitive implementation platform, and cognitive processing architecture.
- It can range from being an Information-Processing Task to being a Decision-Making Task, depending on its task type, cognitive goal structure, and cognitive output requirement.
- It can range from being a Simple Mental Task to being a Complex Mental Task, depending on its mental demand, cognitive resource requirement, and cognitive processing depth.
- It can range from being a Perceptual Cognitive Task to being a Conceptual Cognitive Task, depending on its cognitive abstraction level and cognitive representation type.
- It can range from being a Sequential Cognitive Task to being a Parallel Cognitive Task, depending on its cognitive processing structure and cognitive resource allocation pattern.
- It can range from being a Domain-Specific Cognitive Task to being a Domain-General Cognitive Task, depending on its cognitive knowledge requirement and cognitive skill transferability.
- It can range from being a Short-Duration Cognitive Task to being a Long-Duration Cognitive Task, depending on its cognitive processing timeframe and cognitive resource sustainability requirement.
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- It can be solved by a Cognitive System (such as a knowledge worker or artificial intelligence) with sufficient cognitive capability and cognitive resources.
- It can be instantiated in a Cognitive Act during cognitive task performance and cognitive goal pursuit.
- It can maintain Mental State (for tracking) throughout cognitive task execution and cognitive progress monitoring.
- It can produce Cognitive Results (for evaluation) based on cognitive performance standards and cognitive goal achievement.
- It can be structured through Cognitive Task Design principles to optimize cognitive task performance and cognitive outcome quality.
- It can be measured using Cognitive Task Assessment methods to evaluate cognitive processing efficiency and cognitive solution adequacy.
- It can be facilitated by Cognitive Tools that support cognitive task execution and enhance cognitive processing capability.
- It can be decomposed into Cognitive Subtasks to manage cognitive complexity and enable cognitive task distribution.
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Examples:
- Processing Type Tasks, such as:
  - Information Processing Tasks, such as:
    - Analysis Tasks, such as:
    - Recognition Tasks, such as:
      - Facial Recognition Tasks which are simple for most humans but challenging for artificial systems.
      - Speech Recognition Tasks for cognitive audio processing and cognitive linguistic interpretation.
      - Pattern Recognition Tasks for cognitive data analysis and cognitive anomaly detection.
      - Emotional Recognition Tasks for cognitive social cue interpretation and cognitive empathic response.
      - Concept Mention Grounding Tasks for cognitive reference resolution and cognitive semantic disambiguation.
    - Language Processing Tasks, such as:
  - Knowledge Construction Tasks, such as:
  - Decision-Oriented Tasks, such as:
    - Decision Making Tasks, such as:
    - Judgment Tasks, such as:
  - Metacognitive Tasks, such as:
    - Self-Regulation Tasks, such as:
    - Theory of Mind Tasks, such as:
- Application Domain Tasks, such as:
  - Professional Tasks, such as:
  - Educational Tasks, such as:
  - Everyday Tasks, such as:
- Implementation Context Tasks, such as:
  - Environmental Context Tasks, such as:
    - Time-Pressured Tasks requiring cognitive rapid processing and cognitive efficient decision making.
    - High-Stakes Tasks involving cognitive significant consequence management and cognitive error minimization.
    - Novel-Context Tasks demanding cognitive adaptive response to cognitive unfamiliar situations.
    - Multitasking Tasks requiring cognitive attention division and cognitive parallel processing.
    - Collaborative Tasks involving cognitive team coordination and cognitive shared knowledge construction.
  - Technological Implementation Tasks, such as:
    - Human-Computer Interface Tasks for cognitive digital interaction and cognitive system navigation.
    - Algorithm-Assisted Tasks utilizing cognitive computational augmentation for cognitive enhanced performance.
    - AI-Performed Tasks implementing cognitive artificial intelligence processing for cognitive automated solution.
    - Virtual Environment Tasks occurring in cognitive simulated contexts for cognitive controlled testing.
    - Data-Intensive Tasks requiring cognitive large-scale information processing and cognitive pattern extraction.
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Counter-Examples:
- Non-Cognitive Tasks, such as:
  - Pure Motor Tasks, such as:
    - Simple Repetitive Tasks requiring minimal cognitive engagement and primarily motor execution.
    - Physical Tasks demanding bodily coordination and muscular control rather than complex mental processing.
    - Fine Motor Skill Tasks focusing on precise movement execution with minimal deliberate cognitive input.
    - Gross Motor Tasks involving whole-body movement coordination without significant cognitive deliberation.
    - Reflex-Based Tasks operating through automatic neural response patterns below the level of conscious cognition.
  - Automatic Processing Tasks, such as:
    - Mechanical Tasks following fixed procedures without requiring adaptive cognitive responses.
    - Routine Tasks performed through habitual execution with minimal attentional requirements.
    - Proceduralized Tasks operating via well-established action sequences requiring minimal cognitive monitoring.
    - Reflexive Response Tasks involving automatic reactions to stimuli without deliberate mental effort.
    - Highly Practiced Skill Tasks executed through automaticity after extensive skill acquisition.
  - Basic Perceptual Tasks, such as:
    - Pure Sensory Tasks involving basic perception without requiring higher-order processing.
    - Simple Detection Tasks requiring only stimulus presence recognition without complex interpretation.
    - Basic Discrimination Tasks involving elementary difference detection between simple stimuli.
    - Sensory Threshold Tasks measuring basic perceptual sensitivity without cognitive interpretation.
    - Passive Observation Tasks requiring minimal cognitive engagement beyond basic attention.
- Limited-Scope Tasks, such as:
  - Basic Attention Tasks requiring only sustained focus without complex information processing.
  - Simple Memory Tasks involving basic information retention without cognitive manipulation.
  - Rote Learning Tasks requiring memorization without deeper understanding or knowledge integration.
  - Binary Choice Tasks involving simple decision making between limited options with clear criteria.
  - Rule-Following Tasks requiring explicit instruction adherence without adaptive problem solving.
- Physiological State Tasks, such as:
  - Rest State Tasks involving minimal cognitive activity during wakeful relaxation.
  - Meditative Tasks focusing on attentional regulation rather than active cognitive processing.
  - Sleep-Related Tasks occurring during reduced consciousness states without deliberate cognition.
  - Basic Emotional Response Tasks involving automatic affective reactions without cognitive appraisal.
  - Vegetative Function Tasks operating through autonomic system control without conscious regulation.
See: Mentally-Disabled Human, Automation Task, Intelligence Task, Mental Process, Cognitive Function, Cognitive Ability, Cognitive Load, Cognitive Architecture, Cognitive Science, Executive Function, Working Memory, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Non-Routine Cognitive Task, Cognitive Agent, Cognitive Technique, Cognitive Tool, Cognitive Skill Measure, Cognitively Straining Task.

References

2009

(Charness & Boot, 2009) ⇒ Neil Charness, and Walter R Boot. (2009). “Aging and Information Technology Use Potential and Barriers.” In: Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(5).
- QUOTE: Why are older adults reluctant to adopt new technology, such as the Internet, given its potential to improve the quality of their lives? We review evidence indicating that attitudes and abilities are among the most powerful predictors of technology use. We conclude that normative age-related changes in ability must be taken into account when designing products and training programs for aging adults, and we discuss new tools to support designers. The most promising emerging technologies likely lie in training cognitive abilities and augmenting or substituting for impaired abilities.

2003

(Levy et al., 2003) ⇒ David H. Autor, Frank Levy, and Richard J Murnane. (2003). “The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration.” In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics. doi:10.1162/003355303322552801
- QUOTE: We apply an understanding of what computers do to study how computerization alters job skill demands. We argue that computer capital (1) substitutes for workers in performing cognitive and manual tasks that can be accomplished by following explicit rules; and (2) complements workers in performing nonroutine problem-solving and complex communications tasks.