Rational use of cognitive resources in human planning

Frederick Callaway (), Bas Opheusden, Sayan Gul, Priyam Das, Paul M. Krueger, Thomas L. Griffiths and Falk Lieder
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Frederick Callaway: Princeton University
Bas Opheusden: Princeton University
Sayan Gul: University of California
Priyam Das: University of California
Paul M. Krueger: Princeton University
Thomas L. Griffiths: Princeton University
Falk Lieder: Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

Nature Human Behaviour, 2022, vol. 6, issue 8, 1112-1125

Abstract: Abstract Making good decisions requires thinking ahead, but the huge number of actions and outcomes one could consider makes exhaustive planning infeasible for computationally constrained agents, such as humans. How people are nevertheless able to solve novel problems when their actions have long-reaching consequences is thus a long-standing question in cognitive science. To address this question, we propose a model of resource-constrained planning that allows us to derive optimal planning strategies. We find that previously proposed heuristics such as best-first search are near optimal under some circumstances but not others. In a mouse-tracking paradigm, we show that people adapt their planning strategies accordingly, planning in a manner that is broadly consistent with the optimal model but not with any single heuristic model. We also find systematic deviations from the optimal model that might result from additional cognitive constraints that are yet to be uncovered.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01332-8

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