Mental models approach

Johnson, B.B. 2002a. Risk communication A mental models approach [book review]. Risk Anal. 22(4) 813-814. 

Morgan, M.G., B. Fischhoff, A. Bostrom, and C.J. Atman. 2002. Risk Communication A Mental Models Approach. New York Cambridge University Press. 

Morgan, M.G., Fishhoff, B., Bostrom, A. and Atmann, C.J. (2001) Risk Communication A Mental Model Approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 17-28. 

FIG. 2.4. Mental models approach Influence diagram for risk produced by radon. Source Bostrom, Fischhoff, and Morgan (1992). (In Morgan, Fischhoff, Bostrom,. Atman, 2001, p. 49). Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press. 

Alternatively, in order to better understand students mental model of particular content area(s), students can be presented with two concept maps which are constructed with the same concept labels and then probed for their interpretation and comparison of the two representations. This approach would help us to understand which organization of concepts students find easier to grapple with and the difficulties they face with respect to certain linkages of concepts. 

Fig. 7.11 The main common features of the different modeling approaches for computer simulations of mental disorders, hormone release and neural discharges. Despite significant differences in details and several additional components in the specific models, the principle dynamics originate from a combination of positive and negative feedback loops. The necessary ingredients are ...

One important function of the elaboration knowledge and its related mental model of the situation is to preserve the order expressed in the relationship from its first manifestation to the second. Consider again the age problem introduced above. The two things in this problem are readily identifiable as Mary and her mother. Their associated measurable properties are ages in years. The relationship of interest is that Mary s age is one-third of her mother s age. The importance of the mental model should be evident here. Without an adequate model, the solver might be tempted to apply a formulaic approach that depends on a sequential parsing of the problem, expecting the two statements of the relationship to maintain their order. In fact, as this simple problem illustrates, the order is often disrupted. In this problem, the initial statement is Mary-related to-mother. In the final statement, we... 

Furthermore, one has the rare opportunity of comprehending this phenomenon through the use of additionally gained information, from the initial mental model up until the concrete demonstration model. This is why one should use the opportunity of setting up these lessons as a structure-oriented approach [12]. The first path would be the observations of the laboratory experiences and phenomena, whereas the second path would be the use of scientific explanations of these phenomena, based on the kinds of particles, structural models, like 3D-octahedrons, and model drawings, and finally the development of related mental models [12]. 

Mental Models. We believe that an ethical approach will lead to successful business, foster accountability and enhance our good reputation ... 

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