What's in a Mental Model? On Conceptual Models in Reasoning with Spatial Descriptions

Abstract

A frequently used concept in Cognitive Science research is the notion of a mental model. Several very different areas of research use the concept as an explanatory construct. In this paper we explore one meaning of the concept developed for explaining cognitive reasoning with spatial concepts. Several experiments have been interpreted as showing that an abstract propositional representation is not sufficient for understanding reasoning in this domain. Another form of representation is the mental model which has been proposed to explain the obtained results. In contrast to this, we discuss some steps towards a computational theory founded on the notions of a corsceptaal model and level• of rea1oning which is able to reproduce the experimental results within a single abstract form of representation. Some empirical consequences are outlined and tested. A tentative conclusion is that the experimental results do not refiect fundamental differences in representational form but strategy differences in how to solve the tasks.