01/05/2026
Dear colleagues,
On behalf of the Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, we would like to invite you to a seminar Dr. Cvetomir Dimov (University of Geneva, Switzerland).
Topic: "An Integrated Model of Collaborative Skill Acquisition".
The seminar will take place on 07.05.2026 (Thursday) at 18:00h in Hall 305, Building 2 of building 1 of NBU. The seminar will be in English. You can find more about the topic and speaker here: https://news.nbu.bg/bg/events/seminar-an-integrated-model-of-collaborative-skill-acquisition!95400
Abstract:
Skill acquisition is characterized by an improvement in both speed and precision. In individual tasks, these phenomena are driven by proceduralization - the transition to procedural-only ex*****on - and control tuning, where control parameters are optimized for a specific task. But do these same mechanisms govern collaborative skill acquisition? To investigate this, we developed a cognitive model for data from two studies involving the dynamic video game Co-op Space Fortress, where participants worked together without communication. The model successfully captured overall performance metrics, as well as the subjects' tendency toward role adoption and reliance on anticipatory actions. Our results suggest that, in the absence of communication, collaborative skill acquisition is largely governed by the same underlying cognitive processes as individual skill acquisition.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Cvetomir Dimov is a Research Associate at the University of Geneva, where his work centers on the study of collaboration. He earned his PhD focusing on the cognitive processes underlying inferential decision-making, later expanding his research into collaborative skill acquisition as a postdoctoral fellow under Prof. John R. Anderson. Currently supported by an SNSF Ambizione grant, Dr. Dimov investigates collaborative processes through two primary streams: the construction of a dialogue manager to extend his earlier collaborative skill acquisition model, and the development of a novel serious game to study collaborative planning and problem solving.