Causal policy maps of managers: Formal methods for elicitation and analysis

Abstract

A connection is traced from the informal policy maps of managers, to some formal methods that have been reported for eliciting causal policy maps from the minds of managers, to commercially available computer‐driven methods for storing, displaying, and analyzing policy maps in a group setting. A gap in available techniques for analyzing policy maps is identified, and a path‐finding algorithm built into an artificial intelligence program is put forward as a step toward closing this gap. It is used to demonstrate a causal‐map analysis as an aid to a group policy meeting.

The cognitive psychology of systems thinking

“…Although systems thinking practitioners have, over the years, developed many techniques for eliciting and representing mental models [see, for example, Morecroft (1982) and Hall et al (1994)], these techniques are rarely applied using controlled procedures (Doyle et al 1996). Systems thinking practitioners have been primarily concerned with improving mental models, and so introduce participants to new mapping techniques such as hexagons and causal loop diagrams to help people build models that are more dynamic.…”

Mental Models: An Interdisciplinary Synthesis of Theory and Methods

“…Finding ways of eliciting a mental model presents a major challenge to any discipline interested in using the construct as a means to gain insight into people's internal representations of the world. A variety of elicitation tools and techniques have been developed and used in different fields of applied research, including organizational research (Hall et al 1994, Swan and Newell 1998, Sterman 2000, risk communication (Breakwell 2001, Morgan et al 2002, Hodgkinson et al 2004, Lowe and Lorenzoni 2007, human-computer interaction (Cooke 1999), and education (Osborne and Cosgrove 1983, Vosniaudou and Brewer 1992, Samarapungavan et al 1996, Dove et al 1999). …”

Using environmental report cards to encourage constructive stakeholder relationships in natural resource management: developing a participatory report carding process

“…The study of mental models, as a cognitive mechanism, is a vigorous and growing field in psychology (see Johnson-Laird, 2010;Khemlani et al, 2014;Gangemi et al, 2013). Beyond individual cognition, sharing mental models has been considered a mechanism for communicating, understanding, and learning from different experiences (Osborne & Cosgrove, 1983;Vosniaudou & Brewer, 1992;Hall et al, 1994;Swan & Newell, 1998;Hodgkinson et al, 2004;Lowe & Lorenzoni, 2007).…”