Visual search light model for mental problem solving

This paper proposes a model of mental imagery which takes into account the role of internal attentional search light. We model the process of mental imagery problem solving by a long term memory which manipulates, with the aid of associations, the information of the visual buffer. The visual buffer is changed until a desired solution for a visual problem is achieved. The associations are determined in the retrieval phase of the long term memory. No variable binding mechanism is used. Instead, the search light model is applied to determine, which associations can be executed. The behavior of the model is demonstrated by empirical experiments in geometric block world. r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.