TRACS is a 'Tool for Research on Adaptive Cognitive Strategies'. It is a simple card game developed by Kevin Burns, and can be played online at http://tracsgame.com. (Additional background information is available at http://mentalmodels.mitre.org.) As in the original TRACS studies, we are using the game to assess people's abilities to keep track of the changing odds throughout the course of a game. By equipping our application with eye-tracking and various optional enhancements we are able to run subtle variations and gather a full range of experimental data. Consistent with our "to understand it, build it" approach, we use computational cognitive modeling techniques to test our theories as to the cognitive mechanisms involved.
Our findings have direct implications for research in memory, embodied cognition, and interactive behavior. In addition, our application will be used in combination with the CogWorks MultiWorld for further research on the effects of cognitive workload.