Flowing Waters or Teeming Crowds: Mental Models of Electricity.

Abstract

Analogical comparisons are commonly used in the discussion and teaching of scientific topics. This paper explores the conceptual role of analogy. We compare two position: (1) the generative analogy hypothesis, that analogies are an imported determinant of the way people think about a domain; (2) the surface terminology hypothesis, that analogies merely provide a convenient vocabulary for describing concepts in the domain. We present evidence from interviews and experimental studies in the domain of simple electronics that when using analogies, people map conceptual structures from one domain to another. This important conceptual structure is shown to influence inferences a person makes about the target domain. These results support the generative analogy hypothesis.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA115300

Entities

People

  • Dedre Gentner
  • Donald R. Gentner

Organizations

  • BBN Technologies

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cognitive Science
  • Complex Systems
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electricity
  • Flow Rate
  • Fluid Flow
  • Language
  • Mental Processes
  • Military Research
  • Molecular Dynamics
  • New York
  • Psychology
  • Solar System
  • Thinking
  • United States
  • Water Flow

Readers

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Bayesian Inference
  • AI & ML - Information Retrieval
  • Microelectronics