Rephrasing between Disjunctives and Conditionals: Mental Models and the Effects of Thematic Content

1997 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Richardson ◽  
Thomas C. Ormerod
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Conditional Reasoning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Thematic Content ◽  
Model Sets ◽  
Logical Equivalence ◽  
Model Set ◽  
Task Content ◽  
Mental Models Theory

Two experiments are reported that investigate whether the logical equivalence of conditionals and disjunctives is paralleled by a psychological equivalence. In these experiments, subjects rephrased from one form into the other. Experiment 1 demonstrated strong effects of familiarity and causality of rule content. Similar findings were found in Experiment 2 with a different conditional rule syntax. An account of the experiments is given in terms of mental models theory: In this account, task performance can be seen to depend upon the extent to which the model sets used by subjects to generate rephrasings are complete, task content being the most important factor affecting model set completion. A “Minimal Completion” strategy is proposed to operate in the absence of thematic content. The experiments also falsify the long-held assumption that conditionals with negative antecedents are always interpreted as their disjunctive equivalents. This raises doubts about the mental models explanation for matching bias in conditional reasoning.

scholarly journals Gorgias’ Argument does not Include Actual Conditionals

Problemos ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 93 ◽  
pp. 81-89
Author(s):  
Miguel López - Astorga
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
The Other ◽  
Mental Models Theory

[straipsnis ir santrauka anglų kalba, santrauka lietuvių kalba] It can be thought that Gorgias’ argument on the non-existence consists of three sentences, the first one being an asseveration and the other two being conditionals. However, this paper is intended to show that there is no conditional in the argument, and that the second and third sentences only appear to be so. To do that, a methodology drawn from the framework of the mental models theory is used, which seems to lead to the true logical forms of these last sentences as well.

Content and context effects in children's and adults' conditional reasoning

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 839-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Barrouillet ◽  
Jean-François Lecas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Present Experiment ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Conditional Reasoning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Developmental Issues ◽  
Conditional Sentence ◽  
Context Constraints

We have recently shown that children interpret conditional sentences with binary terms (e.g., male/female) in both the antecedent and the consequent as biconditionals (Barrouillet & Lecas, 1998). We hypothesized that the same effect can be obtained with conditionals that do not contain binary terms provided that they are embedded in a context that restricts to only two the possible values on both the antecedent and the consequent. In the present experiment, we asked 12-year-old children, 15-year-old children, and adults to draw conclusions from conditional syllogisms that involved three types of conditional sentence: (1) conditionals with binary terms (BB), (2) conditionals with non-binary terms (NN), and (3) conditionals with non-binary terms embedded in a restrictive context (NNR). As we predicted, BB conditionals elicited more biconditional response patterns than did NN conditionals in all age groups. On the other hand, manipulating the context had the same effect in children but not in adults. Content and context constraints on conditional reasoning along with developmental issues are discussed within the framework of the mental models theory.

scholarly journals Consistency and inconsistency between instance and category modal inferences from conditionals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moyun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Response Pattern ◽  
The Other ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Overall Response ◽  
Consistent Response ◽  
Mental Models Theory

For the modal meanings of conditionals with the form if p then q, there are three existing psychological accounts: the original suppositional theory, the original and revised mental models theory. They imply different modal meanings of if p then q. Alternatively, we propose a revised suppositional theory with the unique prediction that the set from which the instance referred to by a true conditional was randomly drawn, necessarily includes pq cases, and possibly includes ¬pq / ¬p¬q cases, but impossibly includes p¬q cases. One experiment investigated whether category modal inferences from a conditional would be consistent with preceding instance modal inferences from it. The results revealed that (1) previous instance inferences did not affect subsequent category inferences; (2) relevant cases pq and p¬q tended to elicit consistent response patterns, but irrelevant cases ¬pq and ¬p¬q tended to elicit inconsistent response patterns; (3) the overall response pattern of category inferences is consistent with only the prediction of the revised suppositional theory. The latter implies that only the pq possibility is required by a true conditional, but the ¬pq / ¬p¬q possibility is unrequired. On the whole, these findings favor the revised suppositional theory over the other accounts.

Deontic Reasoning, Mental Models Theory and Traffic Signs Information

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Vargas ◽  
Sergio Moreno-Rios ◽  
Candida Castro ◽  
Geoffrey Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Traffic Signs ◽  
Deontic Reasoning ◽  
Mental Models Theory

scholarly journals Design of a structure model set for inorganic compounds based on ping-pong balls linked with snap buttons

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Horikoshi ◽  
Hiroyuki Higashino ◽  
Yoji Kobayashi ◽  
Hiroshi Kageyama
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Coordination Compounds ◽  
Periodic Structures ◽  
Inorganic Compounds ◽  
Structure Model ◽  
School Students ◽  
Model Sets ◽  
Ping Pong ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Model Set

Abstract Structure model sets for inorganic compounds are generally expensive; their distribution to all students in a class is therefore usually impractical. We have therefore developed a structure model set to illustrate inorganic compounds. The set is constructed with inexpensive materials: ping-pong balls, and snap buttons. The structure model set can be used to illustrate isomerism in coordination compounds and periodic structures of ceramic perovskites. A hands-on activity using the structure model set was developed for high school students and was well-received by them. Despite the concepts being slightly advanced for them, the students’ retention of the knowledge gained through the activity was tested a week after they completed the activity and was found to be relatively high, demonstrating the usefulness of the activity based on the structure model set.

scholarly journals How Much Information Does a Robot Need? Exploring the Benefits of Increased Sensory Range in a Simulated Crowd Navigation Task

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Marit Hagens ◽  
Serge Thill
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
The Other ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Navigation Task ◽  
Navigation Strategy ◽  
Hardware Designs ◽  
Navigation Strategies ◽  
And Task

Perfect information about an environment allows a robot to plan its actions optimally, but often requires significant investments into sensors and possibly infrastructure. In applications relevant to human–robot interaction, the environment is by definition dynamic and events close to the robot may be more relevant than distal ones. This suggests a non-trivial relationship between sensory sophistication on one hand, and task performance on the other. In this paper, we investigate this relationship in a simulated crowd navigation task. We use three different environments with unique characteristics that a crowd navigating robot might encounter and explore how the robot’s sensor range correlates with performance in the navigation task. We find diminishing returns of increased range in our particular case, suggesting that task performance and sensory sophistication might follow non-trivial relationships and that increased sophistication on the sensor side does not necessarily equal a corresponding increase in performance. Although this result is a simple proof of concept, it illustrates the benefit of exploring the consequences of different hardware designs—rather than merely algorithmic choices—in simulation first. We also find surprisingly good performance in the navigation task, including a low number of collisions with simulated human agents, using a relatively simple A*/NavMesh-based navigation strategy, which suggests that navigation strategies for robots in crowds need not always be sophisticated.

Mental Models: Theory and Application in Human Factors

1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Wilson ◽  
Andrew Rutherford
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Representation ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge ◽  
Mental Models Theory

This review points out confusion surrounding the concept and use of mental models from the viewpoints of both human factors and psychology. Noted are the ways in which the notion is conceived according to the needs and approaches of different specialties, and the relationships of mental models to other forms of knowledge representation are considered. The manner in which the human factors community has and should utilize the concept in applications across a number of fields is addressed and discussed in relation to the psychological perspective.

On the Mental Representation of Conditional Sentences

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1086-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan St. B. T. Evans ◽  
Charles E. Ellis ◽  
Stephen E. Newstead
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Conditional Reasoning ◽  
Strong Tendency ◽  
Inference Rules ◽  
Counter Example ◽  
First Finding ◽  
Blue Triangle ◽  
Conditional Statements

Four experiments are reported which attempt to externalize subjects’ mental representation of conditional sentences, using novel research methods. In Experiment 1, subjects were shown arrays of coloured shapes and asked to rate the degree to which they appeared to be true of conditional statements such as “If the figure is green then it is a triangle”. The arrays contained different distributions of the four logically possible cases in which the antecedent or consequent is true or false: TT, TF, FT, and FF. For example, a blue triangle would be FT for the conditional quoted above. In Experiments 2 to 4, subjects were able to construct their own arrays to make conditionals either true or false with any distribution of the four cases they wished to choose. The presence and absence of negative components was varied, as was the form of the conditional, being either “if then” as above or “only if”: “The figure is green only if it is a triangle”. The first finding was that subjects represent conditionals in fuzzy way: conditionals that include some counter-example TF cases (Experiment 1) may be rated as true, and such cases are often included when subjects construct an array to make the rule true (Experiments 2 to 4). Other findings included a strong tendency to include psychologically irrelevant FT and FF cases in constructed arrays, presumably to show that conditional statements only apply some of the time. A tendency to construct cases in line with the “matching bias” reported on analogous tasks in the literature was found, but only in Experiment 4, where the number of symbols available to construct each case was controlled. The findings are discussed in relation to the major contemporary theories of conditional reasoning based upon inference rules and mental models, neither of which can account for all the results.

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