Affect as Motivation for Cognitive and Conative Processes

Abstract

Responding to natural language requires performing two major tasks: information processing (cognition), and decision making (conation). In order to motivate and best guide an entity performing such complex tasks, motivation must originate in the self-interest of the entity. This motivation guides cognitive and conative processes at the lowest possible level by assigning values (measures of importance) to various process components and using them in making process decisions. Through such a motivational mechanism, every decision taken will be to further the entity's self-interests. We describe a model for such a mechanism and the affect process which embodies self-interests.