An essential aspect of human intelligence is that people often take the initiative to set and pursue their own goals, instead of merely reacting to their environment. This is known as proactivity. To elucidate the computational principles of proactivity, we have developed a rational metareasoning model of proactivity [] and a mathematical theory of optimal self-management by goal-setting []. In addition, we have developed resource-rational models of how people pursue their goals []. 

Our theory assumes that our limited attention and planning ability constrain our capacity to pursue goals. We formalize this theory with a computational model based on sparse-max hill-climbing [Mohnert, Tosic, & Lieder 2019]. We are also working on using this model to augment humans’ ability to achieve their goals. Building on our computational models of goal-pursuit, this project develops a resource-rational theory of the function of goal-setting.