Executive Control of Cognitive Search

At a basic level, cognitive search involves several parameters: Under what circumstances should a search be initiated, and how should the goal be specified? What are the criteria by which the search is judged a success or failure? How are corrective actions implemented when search strategies are judged insufficient? Studies of cognitive control have the potential to address each of these questions. In this chapter, a number of issues related to executive control of search are discussed, including the way in which hierarchical search goals are monitored and updated. A new theory of cognitive control is proposed to begin to answer these questions, and open questions that remain are highlighted for future enquiry.