UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
             COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM

                            presents

      "Developing Cognitive Models of Problem Gambling: 
      Mechanisms for Memory, Reinforcement, and Emotions"

                       Dr. Marvin Schiller
           (Psychology Dept., Brunel University, UK)


                    18 Janauary 2012  (Wednesday)
                            1 -2  pm


                  Hatfield, College Lane Campus
                      * * Room D450 * * 

                  Everyone is Welcome to Attend

                  Refreshments will be available

Abstract:

Cognitive Modelling is a promising tool for investigating human
information processing and decision making. In this talk I will present
work on modelling gambling activity (and in particular problem gambling),
since gambling provides a comprehensive and stimulating laboratory for the
study of decision making.

Problem gambling is defined as gambling for money with harmful
consequences. Problem gambling research has identified various aspects of
typical behaviour, pathways towards problem gambling, and particular risk
factors. In this talk, I will argue that the development of a gambling
problem may involve a multitude of various individual and external
factors, and that their interactions and their underlying mechanisms are
still poorly understood.

The aim of the presented work is to investigate the behaviour under
question by implementing and analysing it using the cognitive architecture
CHREST. A particular focus of the current work is on affective memory and
reinforcement learning, which is assumed to have a pivotal role in problem
gambling. A mechanism to model this type of affective learning has
recently been introduced to CHREST, and was used to model the Iowa
Gambling Task, aspects of fruit machine gambling and blackjack.


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Hertfordshire Computer Science Research Colloquium
http://cs-colloq.stca.herts.ac.uk