ANDREW
WALENSTEIN
walenste@ieee.org
Research Scientist
Center for Advanced Computer Studies
University of Louisiana @ Lafayette
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Chapter 3: Cognitive Support Phenomena
Cognitive support, as a topic, is broad. There are many different
ways of supporting thinking and problem solving using artifacts such
as computers. Unfortunately, the different sorts of cognitive
support have been described and studied in a very piecemeal fashion.
This makes it difficult to get a solid overview of the different
sorts of ways that artifacts aid cognition. The danger is that
any theories that seek to explain cognitive support will be too
limited in scope if the wide variety of support types are not
first uncovered.
This chapter serves to survey the different forms of cognitive support,
and the various disciplines contributing to studies of them. During
the survey, attempts will also be made towards relating these to
the domain of software development in order to help appreciate their
importance in the domain. The survey covers
- seven commonly-observed groupings of support concepts (ideas
about how artifacts or people assist in thinking)
- four descriptive theoretical research schools that seek to
understand cognitive support
- four explanatory theoretical schools that might be brought
to bear on understanding cognitive support, and
- seven quite independent research communities that either
have a stake in understanding cognitive support, or
have histories of doing so.
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