Steps to a formal analysis of the cognitive-energetic model of stress and human performance

A. F. Sanders's cognitive-energetic model of stress and human performance attempts to bridge linear stage and capacity models of information processing. It is argued that the identifiability of effects of variations of some subset of component processes can only be properly evaluated through an approach involving formal analysis and numerical simulation. A formal analysis of the model conceived of as a stochastic program evaluation and review technique (PERT) network is outlined. Sanders's model is also regarded as a special case of S. Grossberg's (1982) functional-differential network. Results of illustrative applications of both representations confirmed the validity of the additive factor method, which is the basic method with which Sanders built his model. It is concluded that the PERT and the neural network representations are appealing approaches in the assessment of the cognitive-energetic model of stress and human performance.