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Cognitive Components in AI-Augmented Decision-Making – A Literature Review

Bachelor thesis

Overview

AI systems supporting human decision-making introduce significant cognitive challenges for users. Concepts such as cognitive load and mental models are critical for understanding how users interact with these systems, especially in fields like healthcare where decisions carry high stakes. Cognitive load affects a user’s ability to process explanations, while mental models shape how users perceive and trust AI systems. Understanding these cognitive components is essential for designing AI systems that effectively support decision-making.

This thesis will focus on conducting a systematic literature review to explore how cognitive load and mental models are integrated into AI-augmented decision-making systems. The review will categorize existing research, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for integrating cognitive theories into the design of uncertainty-aware explanations.

Application

Please email your CV, transcript, and a brief statement of interest to . Familiarity with literature review methods or cognitive psychology is a plus. Suggestions for related topics are also welcome.

Literature

  • Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem-solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257-285.
  • Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983). Mental models: Towards a cognitive science of language, inference, and consciousness. Cognitive Science, 4, 143-162.
  • Paas, F., Renkl, A., & Sweller, J. (2003). Cognitive load theory and instructional design: Recent developments. Educational Psychologist, 38(1), 1-4.
  • Abdul, A., Vermeulen, J., Wang, D., Lim, B. Y., & Kankanhalli, M. (2018). Trends and trajectories for explainable, accountable, and intelligible systems: An HCI research agenda. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-18.
  • Wang, D., Yang, Q., Abdul, A., & Lim, B. Y. (2019). Designing theory-driven user-centric explainable AI. Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
  • Zhang, Y., & Wang, C. (2021). Cognitive load in human-AI interaction: A review. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 70, 1-45.