The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 47 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 11 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
On Distinguishing Epistemic from Pragmatic Action
Open accessAbstract
We present data and argument to show that in Tetris—a real‐time, interactive video game—certain cognitive and perceptual problems are more quickly, easily, and reliably solved by performing actions in the world than by performing computational actions in the head alone. We have found that some of the translations and rotations made by players of this video game are best understood as actions that use the world to improve cognition. These actions are not used to implement a plan, or to implement a reaction; they are used to change the world in order to simplify the problem‐solving task. Thus, we distinguish pragmatic actions—actions performed to bring one physically closer to a goal—from epistemic actions—actions performed to uncover informatioan that is hidden or hard to compute mentally. To illustrate the need for epistemic actions, we first develop a standard information‐processing model of Tetris cognition and show that it cannot explain performance data from human players of the game—even when we relax the assumption of fully sequential processing. Standard models disregard many actions taken by players because they appear unmotivated or superfluous. However, we show that such actions are actually far from superfluous; they play a valuable role in improving human performance. We argue that traditional accounts are limited because they regard action as having a single function: to change the world. By recognizing a second function of action—an epistemic function—we can explain many of the actions that a traditional model cannot. Although our argument is supported by numerous examples specifically from Tetris, we outline how the new category of epistemic action can be incorporated into theories of action more generally.
Overview
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
The paper argues that Tetris players perform some rotations and translations not to advance a physical goal but to simplify cognition, introducing epistemic actions as distinct from pragmatic actions. A classical sequential information-processing model and an interleaving variant fail to explain extra rotations and translate-to-wall routines, which are better explained as actions that uncover information, reduce mental rotation, or verify placement.
Key findings
- Players rotate zoids more than expected for purely pragmatic placement: each zoid is rotated more than half its possible rotations; for a shape with four distinct orientations, the expected average would be 1.5 rotations, but observed rotations exceed this. Rotations sometimes begin before 100 ms, before the zoid is fully visible.
- Early rotation can expose hidden parts 150 to 300 ms earlier than waiting for natural appearance; partially hidden zoids ambiguous in both shape and position are more likely to be rotated than those ambiguous in shape alone, though no player reported noticing that zoids begin falling in different columns.
- Physical rotation of a zoid 90° can take as few as 100 ms, whereas mental rotation of a zoid 90° is estimated at 800 to 1200 ms. The translate-to-wall verification routine occurs in about 1% of drops; experts drop a zoid on average 15.65 squares from resting position ordinarily versus 20.05 squares after the translate routine, with intermediate players 13.18 versus 19.04 and advanced players 13.69 versus 19.33.
- The translate-to-wall routine moves the zoid away from the intended column, so it cannot be a pragmatically good move; its function is to verify the column and reduce error, and higher drops are more likely to be verified this way.
Methods
- Design: Tetris was used as a real-time, interactive video game domain; the authors implemented a computational laboratory to unobtrusively record the timing of all keystrokes and game situations, collected tachistoscopic mental rotation tests, and designed and implemented the RoboTetris expert system to compare human and machine performance.
- Sample: the mental rotation pilot had three Tetris players—one intermediate, one advanced, and one expert—each seeing eight presentations of each possible pair of L-shaped or S-shaped zoids; human gameplay data came from subjects playing Tetris.
- Analysis: a classical four-phase information-processing model was constructed (bitmap representation, chunked symbolic representation, placement computation, motor plan computation), then relaxed to allow cascade/interleaving; model predictions such as expected rotation counts were compared with observed keystroke timing and frequency, and deviations were interpreted as epistemic actions.
Limitations
- The paper states it is often hard to prove that an agent performs a particular action for epistemic rather than pragmatic reasons, because an action can serve both epistemic and pragmatic purposes simultaneously, making the relative influence difficult to quantify.
- The paper states it is an open question whether agents use multiple-perspective representations of zoids; the mental rotation data are described as pilot data from only three players, so the mental rotation time estimates are preliminary.
- Evident from the text: many epistemic interpretations are inferred from timing and behavioral regularities rather than direct experimental manipulation, and the mental rotation comparison rests on a very small sample.
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Claims the paper makes
74 Own interpretation · 18 No basis given · 15 Own result · 4 Sources not found · 2 No full text of the sources · 1 Own method
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In the paper
“By rotating an emerging zoid, players can expose its hidden parts, thereby uncovering its complete visual image 150 to 300 ms earlier than if they waited for it to appear naturally.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“We have observed that occasionally a zoid will be rotated very early (before 100 ms), well before we would expect an agent to have any good idea of where to place the zoid.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“As shown in Table 1, experts drop a zoid, on average, when it is about 13 squares from its rest- ing position.”
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“The shortest time between keystrokes in our data is about 75 ms”
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“as shown in Figure 15, the greater the drop distance, the more likely the drop will be verified using the translate-to-wall routine.”
- Also stated in: § 546 KIRSH AND MAGLIO · plain
“we found that the higher the drop, the more often the translate-to-wall routine is used.”
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Also stated in: § 546 KIRSH AND MAGLIO · plain
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Rotations and translations occur in abundance, almost from the moment a zoid enters the Tetris screen.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“the average time between keystrokes is around 250 ms”
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Our observations, however, indicate that agents learn qualitatively different behavioral tricks.”
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In the paper
“Our data show that a player is more likely to rotate a partially hidden zoid that is ambiguous in both shape and position than one ambiguous in shape alone.”
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“But we have found at least one unambiguously epistemic use of transiation: to verify judgment of the column of a zoid.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Probably not a substantial claim. 17
- It may state two separate claims as one. 8
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“In fewer than 10 hours, a newcomer can play at an intermediate level.”
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In the paper
“Agents learn how to expose information early, how to prime themselves to recognize zoids faster, and how to perform external checks or verifications to reduce the uncertainty of judgments.”
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In the paper
“This is particularly clear given that at 100 ms, the zoid is not yet completely in view, and sometimes the agent cannot even reliably guess the zoid's shape.”
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“Some players do report having hot spots in mind before an episode begins.”
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“P emerges in column 4, and R emerges in column 5”
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“First, it is a fast, repetitive game requiring split-second decisions of a perceptual and cognitive sort.”
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“In such studies, actions are defined as transformations in physical or social space.”
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In the paper
“There are only four possible actions a player can take: translate a zoid right, translate left, rotate, and drop.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Because time is at a premium in this game, a standard perfor- mance model would predict that players develop strategies that minimize the number of moves, creating sequences of pragmatic actions which head directly toward goal states.”
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In the paper
“The effects of rotating a zoid are wholly determinate.”
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“The only certain way to get information about new candidates into the iconic buffer is through perception.”
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In the paper
“In Phase Three, players determine where to put the zoid.”
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“there are a host of separate brain regions involved in encoding the bitmap features in the iconic buffer. Some of these have close connections to motor cortex (Felleman & Van Essen, 1991; Sereno & Allman, 1991).”
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Felleman & Van Essen, 1991 source
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Sereno & Allman, 1991
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In the paper
“In Phase Three-the decision phase-rotation also serves a variety of epistemic functions.”
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In the paper
“By definition, it requires moving the zoid away from the currently intended column, and hence it cannot be a pragmatically good move.”
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In the paper
“Of course, such epistemic procedures may be cached, but they are not pragmatic procedures; they are procedures that direct the agent to exploit the environment to make the most of his or her limited cognitive resources.”
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None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“standard accounts of skill acquisition explain enhanced performance as the result of chunking, cach- ing, or compiling (Anderson, 1983; Newell, 1990; Newell & Rosenbloom, 1981; Reason, 1990).”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Anderson, 1983
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Newell, 1990
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites Newell & Rosenbloom, 1981; Reason, 1990
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- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“It is clearly in the interest of a player to identify the complete shape as soon as possible.”
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In the paper
“The processing model this suggests to us is a significant departure from classical theories of action. Its chief novelty lies in allowing individual func- tional units inside the agent to be in closed-loop interaction with the outside world.”
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In the paper
“the greater the drop height, the more in- formative the verification and the less risky (costly) the action.”
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“it is not outrageous to suppose that there is motor involvement in selective attention since there already exists a close connection between attention and the oculo- motor system responsible for saccades.”
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“This kind of model follows the distributed framework proposed by Minsky (1986).”
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites Minsky (1986)
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Not matched
The authors state this as an assumption.
Tetris cognition proceeds in four major phases.
“It is based on a classical information-processing model of expertise based on the sup- position that Tetris cognition proceeds in four major phases:”
The authors state this as an assumption.
The model is fully sequential: Phase Two is completed before Phase Three begins, and Three is completed before Four begins.
“As we have stated it, the model is fully sequential: Phase Two is completed before Phase Three begins, and Three is completed before Four begins.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Each zoid emerges in a random orientation, and on average any zoid can be expected to be placed in any of its orientations with equal probability.
“This follows because each zoid emerges in a random orientation, and on average, any zoid can be expected to be placed in any of its orientations with equal probability.”
The paper relies on this without support.
When a zoid first enters at the top of the screen, only a fraction of its total form is visible.
“When a zoid first enters at the top of the screen, only a fraction of its total form is visible.”
The paper relies on this without support.
At medium speed, a zoid descends at a rate of one square every 150 ms.
“At medium speed, a zoid descends at a rate of one square every 150 ms.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The close coupling between attention and saccades is already accepted.
“The close coupling between attention and saccades is already accepted”
The authors state this as an assumption.
Matching is a primitive process in working memory: Zoid chunk and contour chunk can be compared and matched only if they are explicitly represented in working memory.
“So far we have assumed that matching is a primitive process in working memory: Zoid chunk and contour chunk can be compared and matched only if they are explicitly represented in working memory.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The local effects of an action in Tetris are totally determinate, with no hidden states, exogenous influences, or other agents to change the result of hitting the rotate key.
“The property of Tetris which makes such a strategy pay off is that the local effects of an action are totally determinate. There are no hidden states, exogenous influences, or other agents to change the result of hitting the rotate key.”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Exploratory epistemic actions (Kirsh and Maglio, 1994) are performed to unveil hidden information or to gain insight that would otherwise require a great deal of mental computation.”
From Physical and Virtual Tools: Activity Theory Applied to the Design of Groupware (2002) · cites this paper as Kirsh and Maglio, 1994
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Empirically, such externalisations have been shown to improve problem-solving accuracy as well as speed (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994).”
From Consequences of cognitive offloading: Boosting performance but diminishing memory (2021) · cites this paper as Kirsh & Maglio, 1994
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Hence, cognitive offloading with technical tools might enable performance beyond internal cognitive limitations and thus increase immediate performance (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994; Salomon & Perkins, 2005).”
From Consequences of cognitive offloading: Boosting performance but diminishing memory (2021) · cites this paper as Kirsh & Maglio, 1994
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Kirsh and Maglio (1994) argue that it is cognitively more economical to rotate the figure on screen by pushing a controller button than to mentally simulate the correct rotation.”
From The Cognitive Architecture of Digital Externalization (2023) · cites this paper as Kirsh and Maglio (1994)
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ 538 KIRSH AND MAGLIO
“As shown in Table 1, experts drop a zoid, on average, when it is about 13 squares from its rest- ing position. On those occasions when they also perform the translate-to- wall routine, the zoid is dropped, on average, from about 19 squares above its resting position”
§ 538 KIRSH AND MAGLIO
“Intermediate Advanced Expert M Drop Distance 13.18 13.69 15.65 M Drop Distance after Translate Routine 19.04 19.33 20.05”
Citations
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The Presentation of Self in Virtual Reality: A Cognitive Load Study
Mejia-Puig, L., & Chandrasekera, T. (2022) · Journal of Interior Design · doi:10.1111/joid.12234 · Cited by 10
“Finally, cognitive load (CL) can be off-loaded in the environment using epistemic actions (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994).”
BackgroundThe Extended Infant: Utterance-Activity and Distributed Cognition
Spurrett, D., & Cowley, S. J. (2010) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262014038.003.0013 · Cited by 10
“Our examples have more in common With what Kirsh and Maglio (1994) report of how Tetris is played.”
MethodMaterializing Mind: The Role of Objects in Cognition and Culture
Tylén, K., & McGraw, J. J. (2014) · Studies in the philosophy of sociality · doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9147-2_10 · Cited by 10
DiPRA: a layered agent architecture which integrates practical reasoning and sensorimotor schemas
Pezzulo, G. (2009) · Connection Science · doi:10.1080/09540090902954170 · Cited by 9
“At the same time, top-down, predictive processes can trigger epistemic actions , that is actions which aim to acquire information from the environment (Kirsh and Maglio 1994).”
BackgroundMajumdar, R., Kothiyal, A., Ranka, A., Pande, P., Murthy, S., Agarwal, H., & Chandrasekharan, S. (2014) · IEEE International Conference on Technology for Education (T4E) · doi:10.1109/t4e.2014.31 · Cited by 10
Boucheix, J. (2008) · Psychologie Française · doi:10.1016/j.psfr.2007.10.001 · Cited by 10
Chemero, A. P. (1998) · PSYCHE: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Research On Consciousness · Cited by 10
Towards cognitively grounded gaze-controlled interfaces
Slobodenyuk, N. (2016) · Personal and Ubiquitous Computing · doi:10.1007/s00779-016-0970-4 · Cited by 10
VR Serious Game Design Based on Embodied Cognition Theory
Soler-Dominguez, J. L., Contero, M., & Alcañíz, M. (2017) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-70111-0_2 · Cited by 10
“A good example for this is counting with the fingers or how users rotate Tetris block shapes while falling in order to preview where they are going to fit better instead of representing it only in our mind [23].”
BackgroundMastrogiorgio, A., & Petracca, E. (2016) · Studies in applied philosophy, epistemology and rational ethics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-38983-7_12 · Cited by 11
“In this spirit, for instance, Kirsh and Maglio (1994) distinguish between pragmatic action and epistemic action: the former is devoted to a pragmatic purpose, i.e. to change an environment according to definite objectives, while the latter uses the environment for reasoning.”
BackgroundThe Challenge of Managing Affordances in Computer Game Play
Rambusch, J., & Susi, T. (2008) · Human IT · Cited by 10
Strategic Differences in the Coordination of Different Views of Space
Gunzelmann, G., & Anderson, J. R. (2019) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315782379-103 · Cited by 10
“This aversion for mental transformations is consistent with the results of Kirsh & Maglio (1994) who found that people prefer to rotate objects on the Tetris screen rather than rotate them in their head.”
ResultDesigning for Peer Learning : Mathematics, Games, and Peer Groups in Leisure-time Centers
Maare, Å. H. (2015) · Cited by 10
Designers and Collaborative Virtual Environments
Maher, M. L. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0605-7_1 · Cited by 9
Supporting offline activities on interactive surfaces
Esteves, A., Scott, M., & Oakley, I. (2013) · International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI) · doi:10.1145/2460625.2460648 · Cited by 9
Holman, D. M., & Benko, H. (2011) · CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA) · doi:10.1145/1979742.1979867 · Cited by 9
“Design, Human Factors”
Soares, J. S. (2023) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.4064 · Cited by 9
Seeing and understanding epistemic actions
Croom, S., Zhou, H., & Firestone, C. (2023) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2303162120 · Cited by 9
“However, they have not received the same scientific attention as other action classes, despite some work investigating epistemic actions as actually performed by actors (Kirsh and Maglio, 1994; Burton et al., 1990; though see Droop and Bramley, 2022; Varga et al., 2021).”
BackgroundJanlert, L.-E. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-73105-4_13 · Cited by 9
“actions performed with a purpose to put the current piece in its chosen place and orientation [ 8 , 10].”
BackgroundSkinner, Gibson, and embodied robots: Challenging the orthodoxy of the impoverished stimulus.
Morgan, D. L. (2018) · Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology · doi:10.1037/teo0000083 · Cited by 10
“Kirsh and Maglio (1994), however, demonstrated that successful players use the game’s response keys to rapidly rotate the falling blocks to determine whether they will fit the matrix below.”
BackgroundDocumentary Editing and Distributed Cognition
Pearlman, K. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90332-3_17 · Cited by 9
Theoretical Approaches to Musical Creativity: The Ubimus Perspective
Keller, D., & Lazzarini, V. (2018) · Musica Theorica · doi:10.52930/mt.v2i1.33 · Cited by 9
Piunti, M. (2010) · AMS Dottorato Institutional Doctoral Theses Repository (University of Bologna) · doi:10.6092/unibo/amsdottorato/2402 · Cited by 9
“Maglio to indicate those action aimed at improving agents knowledge [78]”
BackgroundNatural Interaction and Computer Graphics Applications
Iacolina, S. A., Lai, A., Soro, A., et al. (2010) · UNICA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Cagliari) · doi:10.2312/localchapterevents/italchap/italianchapconf2010/141-146 · Cited by 9
“A key aspect of manipulative intaraction has been exposed by Kirsh and Maglio [MK96,Kir94]: hey observed that skilled Tetris players tend to execute lots of fast and apparently useless moves on the bricks while playing.”
BackgroundHumanist and Nonhumanist Aspects of Technologies as Problem Solving Physical Instruments
Soltanzadeh, S. (2014) · Philosophy & Technology · doi:10.1007/s13347-013-0145-4 · Cited by 10
Luminous Color in Architecture: Exploring Methodologies for Design-Relevant Research
Besenecker, U., & Krueger, T. (2015) · Enquiry The ARCC Journal for Architectural Research · doi:10.17831/enq:arcc.v12i1.392 · Cited by 11
Understanding the efficacy of interactive visualization for decision making for complex systems
Oghbaie, M., Pennock, M. J., & Rouse, W. B. (2016) · 2020 IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon) · doi:10.1109/syscon.2016.7490526 · Cited by 9
“[12] Information visualization facilitates finding connections, developing hypotheses, and evaluating available evidence.”
BackgroundEstablishing Mutual Beliefs by Joint Attention: Towards a Formal Model of Public Events
Lorini, E., Tummolini, L., & Herzig, A. (2005) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 9
Designing for Gesture and Tangible Interaction
Maher, M. L., & Lee, L. (2017) · Synthesis lectures on human-centered informatics · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-02219-7 · Cited by 9
Tennent, H., Moore, D. J., & Ju, W. G. (2018) · Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies · doi:10.1145/3161407 · Cited by 9
“We make a key distinction between pragmatic and expressive motion using Kirsch and Maglio’s classification [24].”
MethodMaterial representations in mathematical research practice
Johansen, M. W., & Misfeldt, M. (2018) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-018-02033-4 · Cited by 9
Designing for Gesture and Tangible Interaction
Maher, M. L., & Lee, L. (2017) · Synthesis lectures on human-centered informatics · doi:10.2200/s00758ed1v01y201702hci036 · Cited by 10
Video Analysis of Map-drawing Strategies
Lee, J., & Bednarz, R. S. (2005) · Journal of Geography · doi:10.1080/00221340508978986 · Cited by 9
Separation of Concerns: a Web Application Architecture Framework
Kong, X., Liu, L., & Lowe, D. B. (2005) · Texas Digital Library (University of Texas) · Cited by 9
How do I Know how much I don’t Know? A cognitive approach about Uncertainty and Ignorance
Pezzulo, G., Lorini, E., & Calvi, G. (2004) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 9
Alterman, R., Zito-Wolf, R. J., & Carpenter, T. (1998) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1207/s15516709cog2201_3 · Cited by 9
Situated Play – Just a Temporary Blip?
Susi, T., & Rambusch, J. (2007) · doi:10.26503/dl.v2007i1.349 · Cited by 9
“In their study of Tetris players, Kirsh and Maglio [17] illustrated how players reduce the mental effort by performing some actions directly on the game’s display instead of performing them in their minds; however, their main interest was on the nature of the human mind in general and not so much on computer games in…”
InfluentialManches, A. (2010) · Nottingham ePrints (University of Nottingham) · Cited by 9
Tangible user interfaces for peripheral interaction
Edge, D. (2021) · CL Technical Reports · doi:10.48456/tr-733 · Cited by 9
Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction
Hornbæk, K., Kristensson, P. O., & Oulasvirta, A. (2025) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192864543.001.0001 · Cited by 13
An Estimation Method of Possible Mode Confusion in Human Work with Automated Control Systems
Horiguchi, Y., Fukuju, R., & Sawaragi, T. (2006) · SICE-ICASE International Joint Conference · doi:10.1109/sice.2006.315649 · Cited by 8
“Therefore, people make good use of interaction with their work environment to obtain new cues for certain recognition [6-8]: they can proactively work on (e.”
BackgroundThe role of mental rotation in TetrisTM gameplay: An ACT-R computational cognitive model
Gentile, M., & Lieto, A. (2022) · Cognitive Systems Research · doi:10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.12.005 · Cited by 8
“Moreover, according o Kirsh and Maglio (1994) according to which users often perform the irst action almost immediately, we also hypothesize that model time”
Egyptian archaeology in multiple realities: Integrating XR technologies and museum outreach
Zaia, S., Rose, K. M., & Majewski, A. S. (2022) · Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage · doi:10.1016/j.daach.2022.e00249 · Cited by 8
The epistemic/pragmatic dichotomy
Loader, P. (2012) · Philosophical Explorations · doi:10.1080/13869795.2012.670723 · Cited by 8
“Kirsh and Maglio (in 1994 ) conducted experiments with players of the game Tetris and, from the resultant data, concluded that the strategies adopted by players were not always best explained by the ‘planning’ perspective of classical AI.”
MethodAntle, A. N., Droumeva, M., & Ha, D. (2009) · CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA) · doi:10.1145/1520340.1520612 · Cited by 8
“Less widely appreciated is the value of actions that can simplify mental tasks which involve abstract concepts or symbolic representations [5].”
BackgroundDeLiema, D., Enyedy, N., Steen, F. F., et al. (2021) · Cognition and Instruction · doi:10.1080/07370008.2021.1928133 · Cited by 8
“In contrast, persistent solid materials, such as blocks or visual diagrams, would maintain and thus offload the work required to organize space (e.g., Kirsh & Maglio, 1994).”
BackgroundExplicating How Skill Determines the Qualities of User-Avatar Bonds
Lynch, T., Matthews, N. L., Gilbert, M., Jones, S., & Freiberger, N. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.713678 · Cited by 8
“However, as Kirsh and Maglio (1994) demonstrate, the extra rotations and translative actions produced different affordances for the expert players that resulted in reduced computational costs.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialData Evolution in Times of Crisis: an Organisational Mindfulness Perspective
Flynn, G., Nagle, T., & Fitzgerald, C. (2022) · Information Systems Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-022-10275-4 · Cited by 8
Information Fragmentation, Encryption and Information Flow in Complex Biological Networks
Bohm, C., Kirkpatrick, D., Cao, V., & Adami, C. (2022) · Entropy · doi:10.3390/e24050735 · Cited by 8
“But what could account for perfect performance while not having perfect late-lifetime information? Since an agent can affect the state of inputs by implementing a particular behavior (can “choose what they will see”), one possibility is that the agent’s movements result in an input pattern that “offloads” information…”
BackgroundOverstreet, M., Akhmedjanova, D. R., & Vaccino‐Salvadore, S. (2023) · Journal of Second Language Writing · doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2023.101019 · Cited by 9
Maquil, V., & Ras, E. (2012) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-4093-1_11 · Cited by 8
“Such actions, that do not contribute towards the overall goal of the task, but facilitate mental computation of information, are called epistemic actions [7].”
BackgroundA Dynamic Context Model of Interactive Behavior
Fu, W. (2011) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2011.01173.x · Cited by 8
Imagined Agency: Technology, Unpredictability, and Ambiguity
Ferguson, J. R. (2013) · Contemporary Music Review · doi:10.1080/07494467.2013.775810 · Cited by 8
“…ideas can be seen to support the suggestion that an ability to manipulate external objects may be at the forefront of intellectual rigour (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994, p. 1).4 The craftsman has been able to call to his or her aid a capacity and a dignity ingrained in the human body: signifying acts as…”
BackgroundInvestigating Variations in Gameplay: Cognitive Implications
Sedig, K., Haworth, R., & Corridore, M. (2015) · International Journal of Computer Games Technology · doi:10.1155/2015/208247 · Cited by 8
“For example, Kirsh and Maglio [28] studied people playing the computer game Tetris and found that certain cognitive processes were extended into the game.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialOgnibene, D., Volpi, N. C., Pezzulo, G., & Baldassarre, G. (2013) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39802-5_17 · Cited by 8
“The distinctive characteristic of epistemic actions is that they are executed by a bounded agent as a means to overcome its intrinsic perceptual, computational, and expertise limits [12, 13].”
BackgroundModelling Distributed Cognition Systems in PVS
Masci, P. M., Curzon, P., BLANDFORD, A. E., et al. (2011) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · doi:10.14279/tuj.eceasst.45.653.659 · Cited by 8
External Working Memory and the Amount of Distributed Cognition
Maeda, N. (2012) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 8
Imagining Mechanisms with Diagrams
Sheredos, B., & Bechtel, W. (2019) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190212308.003.0008 · Cited by 8
Arranging Objects in Space: Measuring Task‐Relevant Organizational Behaviors During Goal Pursuit
Solman, G. J. F., & Kingstone, A. F. (2016) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/cogs.12391 · Cited by 8
The Benefits of Epistemic Action Outweigh the Costs
Maglio, P. P., Wenger, M. J., & Copeland, A. M. (2003) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 8
Self-citationA Look at the Effects of Handheld and Projected Augmented-reality on a Collaborative Task
Mackamul, E., & Esteves, A. (2018) · Symposium on Spatial User Interaction · doi:10.1145/3267782.3267793 · Cited by 8
“[18] describes how expert Tetris players will look for an ideal location for a piece by continuously rotating it on its way down, instead of performing this rotation solely mentally.”
Schindler, J., Schindler, S., & Reinhard, M. (2019) · Frontline Learning Research · doi:10.14786/flr.v7i2.407 · Cited by 8
“…action („an external [i.e., not solely mental] action that an agent performs to change his or her own computational state” in contrast to pragmatic actions “whose primary function is to bring the agent closer to his or her physical goal”, Kirsh and Maglio 1994, pp. 514–515; see also Kirsh 2006).”
BackgroundNersessian, N. J. (2017) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9780822373094-006 · Cited by 8
Abducing chances in hybrid humans as decision makers
Magnani, L. (2008) · Information Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.ins.2008.11.022 · Cited by 8
Simulation and Analysis of a Shared Extended Mind
Bosse, T., Jonker, C. M., Schut, M. C., et al. (2005) · SIMULATION · doi:10.1177/0037549705060260 · Cited by 8
Characterizing Tangible Interaction During a Creative Combination Task
Maher, M. L., Lee, L., Gero, J. S., et al. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-44989-0_3 · Cited by 7
Cognitive offloading and the causal structure of human action
Britten-Neish, G. (2025) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-024-04887-3 · Cited by 7
“Other, so-called ‘epistemic actions’ (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994 ) involve reorientations of an agent’s body or environment that are ‘pragmatically’ unnecessary (i.e. they do not directly tend towards the agent’s goal), but which improve performance by making necessary information more readily available.”
Intervening via Chance-Seeking
Bardone, E. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-18153-0_10 · Cited by 7
“According to Kirsh and Maglio (1994), epistemic actions are those actions that alter the representation of the task one is facing.”
BackgroundInteractivity, Values and the Microgenesis of Learning in a Tertiary Setting
Thibault, P. J., & King, M. E. (2016) · Education in the Asia-Pacific region · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0431-5_9 · Cited by 7
Spatial offloading in multiple task monitoring
Todorov, I., Kubik, V., Carelli, M. G., Missier, F. D., & Mäntylä, T. (2018) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2018.1436551 · Cited by 7
“Cognitive science studies have shown that humans can change the task affordances by performing “epistemic” (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994) or physical actions (Goldinger, Papesh, Barnhart, Hansen, & Hout, 2016; Wilson & Golonka, 2013) and by relying both on internal and external representations of the task…”
BackgroundYang, Q., Millette, D. M., Zhou, C., Beatty, M. J., Carcioppolo, N., & Wilson, G. (2019) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2019.1631992 · Cited by 9
“The users modifying external information were referred to as “ epistemic action ” (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994, p. 513), which facilitated and simplified the mental process.”
BackgroundInteractive coin addition: How hands can help us think
Neth, H., & Payne, S. J. (2011) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 7
Gesture-based interaction design
Maher, M. L., Clausner, T., Tversky, B., et al. (2014) · CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA) · doi:10.1145/2559206.2559220 · Cited by 7
“Research themes we bring together include: comprehension [9], metaphor [2,3], mental simulation/embodied cognition [13], action [12, 14], creativity [18], education [17].”
BackgroundSelf-citationChanging perspective: Zooming in and out during visual search.
Solman, G. J. F., Cheyne, J. A., & Smilek, D. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/a0029707 · Cited by 7
Gaze quality assisted automatic recognition of social contexts in collaborative Tetris
Li, W., Nüssli, M.-A., & Jermann, P. (2010) · doi:10.1145/1891903.1891914 · Cited by 7
“It is therefore very likely that there is a strong link between eyemovements and the cognitive processes involved in solving the task (see [11] for a detailed analysis).”
BackgroundEmergence, Agency, and Interaction—Notes from the Field
Penny, S. (2015) · Artificial Life · doi:10.1162/artl_a_00167 · Cited by 7
“New ideas about embodied and situated cognition were coming to light in work such as Lucy Suchmanʼs Plans and Situated Actions [34], Varela, Thomson, and Roschʼs Embodied Mind [35], and the work of Edwin Hutchins [13] and David Kirsh [14].”
BackgroundPragmatist Pragmatics: the Functional Context of Utterances
Collier, J. D., & Talmont-Kamiński, K. (2005) · Philosophica · doi:10.21825/philosophica.82211 · Cited by 7
“This is contrasted with more recent views of authors like Andy Clark (1997, Clark and Chalmers 1989), David Kirsh (Kirsh and Maglio 1994) and Ed Hutchins (1995) that emphasize the practical side of cognition, including interaction with the world.”
ResultSocially Situated Cognition as a Bridge
Smith, E. R., & Semin, G. R. (2006) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781410616982-28 · Cited by 7
Which cognitive tools do we prefer to use, and is that preference rational?
Alexandre, B., Navarro, J., Reynaud, E., & Osiurak, F. (2019) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2019.02.005 · Cited by 7
Gibbs, R. W. (2005) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511805844.006 · Cited by 7
Why ‘scaffolding’ is the wrong metaphor: the cognitive usefulness of mathematical representations
Larvor, B. (2018) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-018-02039-y · Cited by 7
How People Visually Represent Discrete Constraint Problems
Zhu, X., Nacenta, M. A., Akgün, Ö., & Nightingale, P. W. (2019) · IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics · doi:10.1109/tvcg.2019.2895085 · Cited by 7
“There is evidence that gestures can be key constituents of the cognitive process or a representation thereof [80], [81], [82], [83].”
BackgroundCognitive Extension and the Web
Smart, P. R., Engelbrecht, P. C., Braines, D., et al. (2009) · ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) · Cited by 7
Dynamical aspects of behavior generation under constraints
Kozma, R., Harter, D., & Achunala, S. (2007) · Cognitive Neurodynamics · doi:10.1007/s11571-007-9016-y · Cited by 7
“To study the performance of action selection under constraints we have developed a packing task as shown in Fig. 1, which is a variant of the popular Tetris computer game Kirsh and Maglio (1992, 1994) ; Harter and Kozma (2001a, b); Kozma et al. (2002).”
MethodGauging the value of good data: Informational embodiment quantification
Thornton, C. (2010) · Adaptive Behavior · doi:10.1177/1059712310383914 · Cited by 6
“The hypothesis then put forward (Maglio et al. 2003) is that these rotations are epistemic actions (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994) pursued for their cognitive reward.”
BackgroundWorking Hard and Playing Hard: Constructive Uses of On-line Recreation
Oravec, J. A. (1999) · Journal of General Management · doi:10.1177/030630709902400306 · Cited by 7
“Some classic games can aid intellectual processes, according to some psychologists; a famous game developed by aRussian scientist, Tetris,apparently stimulates some forms ofanalytical thinking [40].”
BackgroundFormal Interpretation of a Multi-Agent Society As a Single Agent
Bosse, T., & Treur, J. (2000) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 7
Repurposive Appropriation and Creative Technology Use in Human{Computer Interaction
Salovaara, A. (2012) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja · Cited by 7
The Game of Tetris in Machine LearningPreprint
Algorta, S., & Şimşek, Ö. (2019) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1905.01652 · Cited by 7
“Kirsh & Maglio (1994) gave a detailed account of how people perceive a Tetrimino and execute the actions necessary to place it.”
de Croon, G. (2008) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20080626gc · Cited by 7
Creativity in motion: examining the impact of meaningful movement on creative cognition
Frith, E., & Miller, S. E. (2024) · Frontiers in Cognition · doi:10.3389/fcogn.2024.1386375 · Cited by 6
“…divergent thinking may be facilitated during challenging tasks when there are opportunities for embodied offloading to preserve executive resources (Kirsh and Maglio, 1994; Scaife and Rogers, 1996; Wilson, 2002; Martin and Schwartz, 2005; Pouw et al., 2014; Risko et al., 2014; Risko and Gilbert,…”
BackgroundInfluentialBilingualism is always cognitively advantageous, but this doesn’t mean what you think it means
de Oliveira, G. S., & Oliveira, M. B. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.867166 · Cited by 7
Phenomenal transparency and the boundary of cognition
Hauser, J., & Naeem, H. (2024) · Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11097-024-10025-8 · Cited by 6
“When playing Tetris, agents will often rotate the falling blocks ( zoids ) not just to orient them such that they will seamlessly slot in at the bottom, but also simply to figure out whether a zoid would fit when rotated in various ways (Kirsh & Maglio, 1994).”
InfluentialCros, S., Tiberghien, B., & Bertolucci, M. (2025) · Organization Studies · doi:10.1177/01708406251323723 · Cited by 8
Horiguchi, Y., Fukuju, R., & Sawaragi, T. (2007) · Conference proceedings/Conference proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics · doi:10.1109/icsmc.2007.4413787 · Cited by 6
“work environment to obtain new cues for certain recognition [8]–[10]: they can proactively work on the object so as to uncover something hidden from the responses induced by their actions (e.”
BackgroundThe Posthuman Curriculum and the Teacher
Cook, J. P. (2016) · Cited by 7
Aegean Bronze Age Art: Meaning in the Making
Knappett, C. (2020) · Cited by 7
Metadata
- Authors
- Kirsh, D., & Maglio, P.
- Affiliations
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kirsh, David
- Venue
- Cognitive Science
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1994-10
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 513-549
- ISSN
- 0364-0213 (ISSN-L)
- 1551-6709
- OpenAlex
- W2128922568
- Cited by
- 1,641
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 63 · 2025: 123 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 112 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 104 · 2019: 89 · 2018: 60 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 83 · 2014: 71 · 2013: 83 · 2012: 57
- FWCI
- 4.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Cognitive Science (publishedVersion)
- PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI-based Problem Solving and Planning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Keywords
- epistemic actions, Tetris, video gaming, cognition and action, information processing model, problem solving, philosophy of action
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A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-12, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-12 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
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