Progress in the diagnostics of mental models

Abstract

Mental models are designed in individually meaningful problem situations, and are specific phenomena that enable individuals to develop new knowledge. With regard to external phenomena, mental models show internally a subjective plausibility and externally an explanation value for the reality. Knowl edge diagnostics of mental models, that is standardized and simultaneously, allow content related statements, only recently beginning to be done. The newly develop ed and standardized Test for Causal Models (TCM) as a combination of structure formation techniques and causal diagrams appears to be a workable structure discovering method in the context of an extensive empirical test of validity. Generally with regard to content the complexity measure had a higher validity than the formal one. Nearly diminution-free qualitative and quantitative data analyses and evaluations become feasible in connection with content structuring and lattice analysis. So the problem of the structure isomorphism arising in structure formation techniques is overcome, and comparisons as well as data based typifying of the studied dependent changes, become possible for intra- and inter-individual comparisons. The subjective plausibility content is examined in detail. The meaning of measuring - validity- dilemma with regard to an individually centred data elevation and with low information losses connected with data inquiry is dis cussed. A perspective for further research is given. © 2008 Springer-Verlag US.