Models and Mechanisms in Cognitive Science

In this chapter we present and discuss models in the context of cognitive sciences, that is, the sci- ences of the mind. We will focus on computational models, which are the most popular models used in the disciplines of the mind. The chapter has three sections. In the first sec- tion, we explain what is a computational model, give a pair of examples of it, illustrate some crucial concepts related to this kind of models (simulation, computational explanation, functional explana- tion, and mechanicism) and introduce a class of partially alternative models: dynamical models. In the second section, we discuss a pair of difficulties faced by computational explanation and modeling in cognitive sciences: the problem raised by the constraint of modularity, and the problem of the allegedly required integration between dynamical and computational models. Finally, in the third section, we provide a short recap