ABSTRACT
Properties of the ACT-R conflict resolution suggest the possibility of modelling
a behaviour at different activation levels of the autonomic nervous system. A
model of the classical Yerkes-Dodson experiment was built to test the
predictions. The resulting model explains such psychological phenomena as the
iriverted-U curve, relating performance to arousal, within the mathematical
representations of equations in ACT-R. Dynamical optimisation of the two
crucial parameters, namely goal value and gain noise variance, may produce
more optimal solution paths. We argue that subjects also perform such
optimisation as including it into the models can produce a better match with the
data. The dynamics corresponds to activational and motivational changes,
related to experience of emotion during problem solving, which leads to
interesting speculations about a role emotion in intelligence.
