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SIMULATION, Vol. 82, No. 11, 761-768 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0037549706075251

Simulation in University Education:The Artificial Agent PSI as a Teaching Tool

Johanna Künzel

Unilever Food and Health Research Institute, Olivier van Noortlaan 120 3133 AT Vlaardingen, The Netherlands; johanna.kuenzel{at}unilever.com

Viola Hämmer

Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg Germany; viola.haemmer{at}bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de

One weakness of undergraduate psychology education in Germany is that students do not have many opportunities to practice their theoretical knowledge. To fill this gap, a new teaching approach has been introduced to the curriculum at the University of Bamberg, Germany.The students conduct experiments with an artificial agent, a computer simulation originating from a cognitive modeling approach. The agent, called "PSI" (see http://web.uni-bamberg.de/ppp/insttheopsy/software for various versions), is the implementation of the PSI theory (see Dörner, D., 1999, Bauplan für eine Seele, Rowohlt, Reinbek).The PSI theory integrates approaches to cognition, emotions, motivation, human action regulation, and perception. One major benefit of the work with the simulation (besides the students gaining practical experience) is that it is possible to convey knowledge about psychological processes and that interaction of different processes difficult to isolate in natural agents become clearly visible to students. In the evaluation of the course, students rated the course as a valuable addendum to the traditional education in psychology.

Key Words: Agents • education • cognitive modeling • training


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