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Spatial Mental Models in Linear Reasoning

Räumliche mentale Modelle und lineare Syllogismen

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Kognitionswissenschaft

Zusammenfassung

Zahlreiche empirische Ergebnisse legen nahe, daß beim Lösen linearer Syllogismen mentale Modelle konstruiert werden, die die bestehenden Sachverhalte in der Welt semantisch repräsentieren (Evans, Newstead & Byrne, 1993; Vandierendonck & De Vooght, 1996 a). Solche Modelle werden konstruiert, indem die Information in den Prämissen in eine integrierte Repräsentation überführt wird, der oft ein räumlicher Charakter unterstellt wird. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird (a) empirische Evidenz für die Annahme einer integrierten Repräsentation der Prämissen präsentiert, und (b) ein auf Scanning-Prozessen basierender Modellkonstruktionsprozeß vorgeschlagen, der in der Lage ist, die Position zu bestimmen, an der neue Information in ein räumliches mentales Modell integriert werden muß.

Abstract

There is ample evidence that linear syllogisms are solved by constructing mental models, which semantically represent states in the world (Evans, Newstead, & Byrne, 1993; Vandierendonck & De Vooght, 1996 a). Such models are built by combining the information presented in the premises into an integrated representation, which is often thought of as spatial. The present article (a) presents evidence for an integrated spatial representation of premise information and (b) proposes a model construction process based on scanning processes that locate the position where new information is to be integrated into the spatial model.

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Correspondence to Gino De Vooght.

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The paper presents research results of the Belgian programme on Interuniversity Poles of Attraction initiated by the Belgian State, Prime Minister’s Office, Science Policy Programming, projects nr. 3/31 and 4/19. The scientific responsibility is assumed by its authors.

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De Vooght, G., Vandierendonck, A. Spatial Mental Models in Linear Reasoning. Kognit. Wiss. 7, 5–10 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354957

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