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Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology
Curriculum Vitae in pdf format (73kb)
My main research interests lie in the area of cognitive modelling, specifically in attempting to understand the complex interaction between cognitive, perceptual and motor processes in reasoning and problem solving with external representations of information such as diagrams, computer interfaces and maps.
My primary research activity over the last few years has been the development of a theoretical account of diagrammatic reasoning with Cartesian (x-y co-ordinate) graphs and other diagrams. The methodology I employ involves combining high-density temporal data (e.g., eye movements, verbal protocols and motor interactions) with performance data to obtain a fine grained image of the user's interaction with the diagram throughout the entire course of the problem solving task. I use the ACT-R cognitive architecture to develop computational models of diagrammatic reasoning tasks as it incorporates mechanisms for cognition, perception and motor control, enabling the simulation of visual attention on diagram elements and manual interactions with the computer.
Using ACT-R, I have produced cognitive models of several graph-based reasoning tasks that provide a detailed specification of the graph user's knowledge, problem solving strategies and the complex interactions between the internal and external representations that occur during the performance of the task. These models have also been successful in providing accurate accounts of the observed eye movement and RT data.
I have recently completed a three-year research project funded by Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping agency, seeking to understand the cognitive processes involved in orientation tasks in urban environments with OS maps.
Nadia Ali: The effect of graph format and graphical features on the comprehension of three-variable interaction graphs.
Corinna Jones: A cognitive model of students' different understanding of natural and decimal numbers.
Peebles, D. & Banks, A. P. (submitted). Modelling dynamic decision making with the ACT-R cognitive architecture. Journal of Artificial General Intelligence.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 144kb)]
Davies, C. & Peebles, D. (in press). Spaces or scenes: Map-based orientation in urban environments. Spatial Cognition and Computation.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 1.05Mb)]
Howes, A., Peebles, D. & Cooper, R.P. (Eds). (2009). Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Cognitive Modeling – ICCM2009. Manchester, UK.
[Poster (pdf format 60.6Mb) | Proceedings (pdf format 45.9Mb)]
Peebles, D. & Ali, N. (2009). Differences in comprehensibility between three-variable bar and line graphs. In N. Taatgen, H. van Rijn, J. Nerbonne & L. Schomaker (Eds.). Proceedings of the Thirty-First Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 67kb)]
Peebles, D. (2008). The effect of emergent features on judgments of quantity in configural and separable displays. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14, 85-100.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 446kb)]
Cox, A.L. & Peebles, D. (2008). Cognitive Modelling in HCI Research. In P. A. Cairns, & A. L. Cox. (Eds.). Research Methods for Human Computer Interaction. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
[Paper (pdf format 292kb)]
Peebles, D., Davies, C., and Mora, R. (2007). Effects of geometry, landmarks and orientation strategies in the 'drop-off' orientation task. In S. Winter, M. Duckham, L. Kulik, & B. Kuipers (Eds). Spatial Information Theory. Springer.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 393kb)]
Davies, C., & Peebles, D. (2007) Strategies for orientation: The role of 3D landmark salience and map alignment. In Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 654kb)]
Ropar, D., & Peebles, D. (2007). Sorting preference in children with autism: The dominance of concrete features. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 270-280.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 9.4Mb)]
Davies, C., Mora, R. and Peebles, D. (2006) Isovists for orientation: Can space syntax help us predict directional confusion? In Proceedings of the 'Space Syntax and Spatial Cognition' workshop, Spatial Cognition 2006, Bremen, Germany, 24 September 2006.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 618kb)]
Peebles, D. & Cox, A.L. (2006) Modelling interactive behaviour with a rational cognitive architecture. In Zaphiris, P. & Kurniawan, S. (Eds.). Human Computer Interaction Research in Web Design and Evaluation. London. Idea Group Inc.
Reprinted in E. Szewczak. (Ed.). (2008). Selected Readings on the Human Side of Information Technology. IGI Global.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 205kb]
Peebles, D., & Bothell, D. (2004). Modelling performance in the Sustained Attention to Response Task. In M. Lovett, C. D. Schunn, C. Lebiere & P. Munro (Eds.). Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Cognitive Modeling. Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 104kb)]
Peebles, D. (2004). Distortions of perceptual judgement in diagrammatic representations. In K. Forbus, D. Gentner & T. Regier (Eds.). Proceedings of the Twenty Sixth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 104kb)]
Peebles, D., & Cheng, P. C.-H. (2003). Modeling the effect of task and graphical representation on response latency in a graph reading task. Human Factors, 45, 28-46.
Winner of the Jerome H. Ely Human Factors Article Award for the most outstanding article in the 2003 volume of Human Factors. Click here for details.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 451kb)]
Peebles, D., & Cheng, P. C.-H. (2002). Extending task analytic models of graph-based reasoning: A cognitive model of problem solving with Cartesian graphs in ACT-R/PM. Cognitive Systems Research, 3, 77-86.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 163kb)]
Peebles, D., & Cheng, P. C.-H. (2001). Graph-based reasoning: From task analysis to cognitive explanation. In J. D. Moore & K. Stenning. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Twenty Third Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 47kb)]
Peebles, D., & Cheng, P. C.-H. (2001). Extending task analytic models of graph-based reasoning: A cognitive model of problem solving with Cartesian graphs in ACT-R/PM. In E. M. Altmann, A. Cleermans, C. D. Schunn & W. D. Gray. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Cognitive Modeling. Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 47kb)]
Peebles, D. (2000). Review of The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (pdf format 71kb). Perception, 29 (5), 628-629.
Peebles, D., Cheng, P. C.-H., & Shadbolt, N. R. (1999). Multiple processes in graph-based reasoning. In M. Hahn, & S. C. Stoness (Eds.). Proceedings of the Twenty First Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 85kb)]
Cupit, J., Shadbolt, N., Cheng, P. C.-H., & Peebles, D. (1999). Compiling ontologies into structured views and interviews: The design of a graph drawing tool for knowledge elicitation. Twelfth Workshop on Knowledge Acquisition, Modeling and Management, Banff , Alberta , Canada (KAW'99).
Peebles, D. & Lamberts, K. (1999). A connectionist model of categorization response times. In D. Heinke, G. W. Humphreys, & A. Olson. (Eds.), Connectionist Models in Cognitive Neuroscience. London , Springer-Verlag.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 112kb)]
Peebles, D. (1997). The effect of stimulus frequency on classification accuracy and response time. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 1997.
[Abstract | Paper (pdf format 701kb)]
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