Structure-mapping: Directions from simulation to theory

The need for central resources in answering questions in different domains: Folk psychology, biology, and economics

“…There is no need for us to adjudicate between the ''theory theory'' and the ''simulation theory'', first, because current models are becoming more integrative and hybrid (Bach, 2011;Gopnik & Wellman, 2012), and, second, because both approaches predict involvement of a domaingeneral mechanism in handling false-belief questions (see the discussion, in a different context, by Wilkinson & Ball, 2012). In particular, both accounts involve the ability to suppress the influence of one's own beliefs (Carlson, Moses, & Breton, 2002;Carlson, Moses, & Claxton 2004;Perner & Lang, 1999;Stanovich & Toplak, 2012;Wilkinson & Ball, 2012).…”

“…The emergence of biological thought has been extensively studied (for reviews, see Gutheil, Vera, & Keil, 1998;Inagaki & Hatano, 2002;Keil, 2007), and the literature contains detailed discussions of how the distinguishing properties of the living world*and of thinking about those properties*make biology into a distinct cognitive domain (Atran et al, 2001;Inagaki & Hatano, 2002). There are some notable differences between populations and cultures, but certain phenomena are robust across populations, a finding INFERENCE IN FOLK DOMAINS 819 consistent with the notion of an innate specialised capability that facilitates the mental processing of biological information (Astuti, Solomon, & Carey, 2004;Carey, 2011;Hatano & Inagaki, 1996Medin & Atran, 2004;Ross, Medin, Coley, & Atran, 2003;Tarlowski, 2006).…”

Analogical Cognition: an Insight into Word Meaning

“…This involves identifying the relations that are found in both situations, and also in mapping correspondences between the items that enter into those relations. Gentner has proposed a 'structure mapping theory' that provides basic principles along which this mapping of structure takes place (Gentner 1983;Bach 2011). 5 This same mapping of structure is also taken to be involved in the process of judging how similar two situations are.…”

Predicting Framed Decisions: Simulation or Theory?

“…The hard-liner's position is unlikely to be true for low-level simulation, where the evidence for simulation collected in the last 20 years or so is indeed strong (e.g., Bach, 2011;Goldman, 2006;Shanton & Goldman, 2010). However, high-level simulation has not yet been shown convincingly.…”

“…Unlike in the early days of the TT-ST debate, the dominant understanding now is of a "simulation-theoryhybrid" in which TT and ST do co-exist (Bach, 2011;Goldman, 2006;Heal, 1998;Malle & Hodges, 2005). Most notably, high-level simulation needs to be informed by some sort of theory about what the relevant features of the person, or situation, are that have to be imagined.…”