Computational Rationality as a Theory of Interaction

TLDR

The longstanding question of how people interact with computers has evolved from a cognitive processing focus to an adaptive framework that views users as acting optimally within the limits of cognition, device design, and environment. The paper synthesizes advances in computational rationality to explain and predict interaction, reviews its theoretical commitments and emerging HCI applications, and proposes a research agenda. The review identifies computational rationality as a coherent framework for modeling interaction and delineates key research directions for future work.

Abstract

How do people interact with computers? This fundamental question was asked by Card, Moran, and Newell in 1983 with a proposition to frame it as a question about human cognition – in other words, as a matter of how information is processed in the mind. Recently, the question has been reframed as one of adaptation: how do people adapt their interaction to the limits imposed by cognition, device design, and environment? The paper synthesizes advances toward an answer within the theoretical framework of computational rationality. The core assumption is that users act in accordance with what is best for them, given the limits imposed by their cognitive architecture and their experience of the task environment. This theory can be expressed in computational models that explain and predict interaction. The paper reviews the theoretical commitments and emerging applications in HCI, and it concludes by outlining a research agenda for future work.