Mental Models and Causation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. N. Johnson-Laird ◽  
Sangeet S. Khemlani
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Electrical Circuits ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Probability Calculus ◽  
Reverse Engineer ◽  
Statistical Regularities

The theory of mental models accounts for the meanings of causal relations in daily life. They refer to seven temporally-ordered deterministic relations between possibilities, which include causes, prevents, and enables. Various factors—forces, mechanisms, interventions—can enter into the interpretation of causal assertions, but they are not part of their core meanings. Mental models represent only salient possibilities, and so they are identical for causes and enables, which may explain failures to distinguish between their meanings. Yet, reasoners deduce different conclusions from them, and distinguish between them in scenarios, such as those in which one event enables a cause to have its effect. Neither causation itself nor the distinction between causes and enables can be captured in the pure probability calculus. Statistical regularities, however, often underlie the induction of causal relations. The chapter shows how models help to resolve inconsistent causal scenarios and to reverse engineer electrical circuits.

scholarly journals Much ado about nothing: The mental representation of omissive relations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeet Khemlani ◽  
Paul Bello ◽  
Gordon Briggs ◽  
Hillary Harner ◽  
Christina Wasylyshyn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Model Theory ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Alternative Possibilities ◽  
Temporal Relations ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Much Ado About Nothing ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Force Vectors

When the absence of an event causes some outcome, it is an instance of omissive causation. For instance, not eating lunch may cause you to be hungry. Recent psychological proposals concur that the mind represents causal relations, including omissive causal relations, through mental simulation, but they disagree on the form of that simulation. One theory states that people represent omissive causes as force vectors; another states that omissions are representations of contrasting counterfactual simulations; a third argues that people think about omissions by representing sets of iconic possibilities – mental models – in a piecemeal fashion. In this paper, we tease apart the empirical predictions of the three theories and describe experiments that run counter to two of them. Experiments 1 and 2 show that reasoners can infer temporal relations from omissive causes – a pattern that contravenes the force theory. Experiment 3 asked participants to list the possibilities consistent with an omissive cause – it found that they tended to list particular privileged possibilities first, most often, and faster than alternative possibilities. The pattern is consistent with the model theory, but inconsistent with the contrast hypothesis. We marshal the evidence and explain why it helps to solve a long-standing debate about how the mind represents omissions.

Ninth Bartlett Memorial Lecture. Thinking as a Skill

1982 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. N. Johnson-Laird
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Syllogistic Reasoning ◽  
Memorial Lecture ◽  
States Of Affairs ◽  
Alternative Models ◽  
High Level ◽  
Mental Logic

There are two conflicting views about the nature of thought: it is invariably rational or invariably irrational. Bartlett argued that thinking is a high level skill, and this idea suggests an obvious third possibility: thought is sometimes rational and sometimes irrational. This view is defended in the present paper, which argues that the doctrine of logical infallibility is either falsified by the results of some experiments on syllogistic reasoning or else empirically vacuous. There is no need to postulate a mental logic of the sort that Piaget and others have proposed. The rapid implicit inferences of daily life depend on the ability to interpret sentences by constructing mental models of the states of affairs that they describe. Deliberate deductions depend on the further ability to search for alternative models that violate putative conclusions. All that you need to know to assess validity is the fundamental semantic principle of deduction: an inference is valid if, and only if, its conclusion is true in every situation in which its premises are true and there is no way of interpreting the premises so as to render the conclusion false. This principle guides the construction of all logics though it is not explicitly stated in any of them. The paper concludes by examining the ways in which people differ in their ability to reason, the practical need to improve this ability, and some of the pedagogical implications of the present studies.

scholarly journals Much Ado About Nothing: The Mental Representation of Omissive Relations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeet Khemlani ◽  
Paul Bello ◽  
Gordon Briggs ◽  
Hillary Harner ◽  
Christina Wasylyshyn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Model Theory ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Alternative Possibilities ◽  
Temporal Relations ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Much Ado About Nothing ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Force Vectors

When the absence of an event causes some outcome, it is an instance of omissive causation. For instance, not eating lunch may cause you to be hungry. Recent psychological proposals concur that the mind represents causal relations, including omissive causal relations, through mental simulation, but they disagree on the form of that simulation. One theory states that people represent omissive causes as force vectors; another states that omissions are representations of contrasting counterfactual simulations; a third argues that people think about omissions by representing sets of iconic possibilities – mental models – in a piecemeal fashion. In this paper, we tease apart the empirical predictions of the three theories and describe experiments that run counter to two of them. Experiments 1 and 2 show that reasoners can infer temporal relations from omissive causes – a pattern that contravenes the force theory. Experiment 3 asked participants to list the possibilities consistent with an omissive cause – it found that they tended to list particular privileged possibilities first, most often, and faster than alternative possibilities. The pattern is consistent with the model theory, but inconsistent with the contrast hypothesis. We marshal the evidence and explain why it helps to solve a long-standing debate about how the mind represents omissions.

scholarly journals Cognitive cultural models at work: The case of German-speaking Switzerland

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekka Studler
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Cluster Model ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Cultural Models ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
German Speaking

AbstractIn the German-speaking part of Switzerland, people use Swiss German and High German side by side in their daily life. This situation gives rise to various attitudes towards both of these two varieties. Interestingly, some of these attitudes seem to be partly in conflict. The aim of this paper is to show that these attitudes are not necessarily conflicted but rather that such attitudes normally have a multidimensional character. Multidimensional attitudes can be traced back to multidimensional mental models on which people naturally draw. In applying Berthele’s (2010) cluster model, which combines Geeraerts’s (2003) rationalist and romantic models for standardization, the paper illustrates, based on a recent study, which mental models have to be operative to conceptualize the complex frames of the two varieties in use. Additionally, recent shifts in the attitudinal climate in Switzerland indicate that these cognitive cultural models are not static but are subject to dynamic processes.

Counseling Adolescents With Hearing Loss Using a Narrative Therapy Approach

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-78
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Nelson Crowell ◽  
Julie Hanenburg ◽  
Amy Gilbertson
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Narrative Therapy ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Therapy Approach ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Counseling Adolescents

Abstract Audiologists have a responsibility to counsel patients with auditory concerns on methods to manage the inherent challenges associated with hearing loss at every point in the process: evaluation, hearing aid fitting, and follow-up visits. Adolescents with hearing loss struggle with the typical developmental challenges along with communicative challenges that can erode one's self-esteem and self-worth. The feeling of “not being connected” to peers can result in feelings of isolation and depression. This article advocates the use of a Narrative Therapy approach to counseling adolescents with hearing loss. Adolescents with hearing loss often have problem-saturated narratives regarding various components of their daily life, friendships, amplification, academics, etc. Audiologists can work with adolescents with hearing loss to deconstruct the problem-saturated narratives and rebuild the narratives into a more empowering message. As the adolescent retells their positive narrative, they are likely to experience increased self-esteem and self-worth.

Assessment of health related issues in individuals’, couples’, and families’ daily life

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinrad Perrez ◽  
Michael Reicherts ◽  
Yves Hänggi ◽  
Andrea B. Horn ◽  
Gisela Michel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Lower Variability

Abstract. Most research in health psychology is based on retrospective self reports, which are distorted by recall biases and have low ecological validity. To overcome such limitations we developed computer assisted diary approaches to assess health related behaviours in individuals’, couples’ and families’ daily life. The event- and time-sampling-based instruments serve to assess appraisals of the current situation, feelings of physical discomfort, current emotional states, conflict and emotion regulation in daily life. They have proved sufficient reliability and validity in the context of individual, couple and family research with respect to issues like emotion regulation and health. As examples: Regarding symptom reporting curvilinear pattern of frequencies over the day could be identified by parents and adolescents; or psychological well-being is associated with lower variability in basic affect dimensions. In addition, we report on preventive studies to improve parental skills and enhance their empathic competences towards their baby, and towards their partner.

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