APA Dictionary of Psychology

in the control of action model, a theoretical higher level cognitive mechanism active in nonroutine or novel situations: It is held to be responsible for troubleshooting and decision making when habitual responses or automatic processes are ineffective or otherwise unsatisfactory. The SAS is thought to be involved in carrying out a variety of other executive functions as well, and is seen as a network for the coordination and control of cognitive activity and intentional behavior. Compare Contention Scheduling System. [described in 1980 by U.S. cognitive scientist Donald A. Norman (1935–  ) and British neuropsychologist Timothy Shallice (1940–  )]