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Should Successful Agents Have Emotions? The Role of Emotions in Problem Solving

Emotion and Cognition In this article we examine whether emotions are helpful or even necessary for problem solving or not. We investigate the behaviour of a Psi-model with and without emotions. Psi is a theory of human "action regulation", a theory about how cognition, motivation and emotion are integrated in controlling human behaviour in complex and dynamic domains of reality (see Dorner et al. 2002). The Psi-theory is partially implemented as a computer program. In Psi cognition, motivation and emotion are conceptualized as information processes, generally as "calculation". How is it possible to generate "irrational" emotional processes as "rational" processes of "calculation"? According to concepts of Belavkin & Ritter (2003) what is called "emotion" in our eyes is a controlling system which takes into account two relations of an organism to reality, namely the uncertainty (unpredictability) of the environment and the (estimated) degree of efficiency of an organism to tackle problems (competence).  When uncertainty is high an organism should be prepared for action, especially for flight or aggresssion, should exhibit a tendency to explore its environment, should exhibit a high degree of safeguarding behaviour. When competence is low an organism should try to avoid contact with too difficult problems, should try to enlarge its competence by looking for "efficiency" signals by trying to master problems which hitherto it has not been able to master. Emotions are based on such modes of being prepared for different forms of actions; additionally however internal parameters of cognitive processes are modified according to the degree of competence and certainty. One of these parameter is arousal (= general preparedness for action), another one is the resolution level of cognitive processes. A low resolution level means rough planning, superficial ("overinclusive") perception and shallow, conservative processes of recall. A sudden decrease of competence for instance would mean a sudden increase of arousal, decrease of resolution level (to guarantee quick action), incomplete recall of possible modes of action for the situation at hand and rough planning of actions, hence swift and risky (undeliberated) action. This mode of action could be described as anger. Prediction of human behaviour In a series of experiments we examined the relation of the Psi-model to human behaviour. We used different forms of a complex, dynamic, maze like environment (the "island" Detje, 1998; Gerdes 2001) where human subjects had to play a kind of adventure game. They had to take care of the "survival" of a robot, which needed water and fuel (for instance in the form of sunflower seeds or hazelnuts) for its internal steam engine. The subjects had to explore the geographical form of the island, had to plan actions to find water and fuel, to preserve the robot from damage and they had to find as many "nuggets" as possible. The Psi version of an experimental subject was the same robot without the control of a human subject, but with the Psi-theory implementation serving as the robots "soul". In several experiments it was possible to predict human behaviour to a satisfactory degree.