Cognitive Maps
SAINT-PETERSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Analytical overview
Topic: “Cognitive Maps”
Course: Knowledge Engineering
Author: Marina Borovkova
Group: FM.1
Saint-Petersburg
2011
Table of contents Introduction 3 Definition of Cognitive Mapping 4 History and Use of the Term 4 The Process of Cognitive Mapping 6 Different Types of Cognitive Map and Mapping Techniques 7 Cognitive mapping techniques 8 Causal mapping. 8 Semantic mapping 9 Concept mapping 10 Application of cognitive techniques and maps 11 Conclusion 13
Introduction
All of us face misunderstandings and perception discrepancies, but what is the reason? The visual environment, natural objects and human actions are interpreted differently by different people. Information in our brain about thing, events and notions is organized in some structural schemes called “cognitive maps”. They help us to systemize knowledge and easily extract it in the process of analyzing and interpretation of new, unknown events or things. It is meaningful to study how to understand, visualize and organize our cognitive maps. So the theme of cognitive mapping deserves attention and thoroughly research.
Definition of Cognitive Mapping
For understanding of the term “cognitive map” we should firstly define the meaning of “cognition”. From psychological point of view “cognition” refers to the mental models (belief systems), that people use to interpret, frame, simplify, and make sense of otherwise complex problems. These mental models are concerned in terms of cognitive maps, scripts, schema, and frames of reference. Such belief systems are built from past experiences and comprise internally represented concepts and relationships among concepts that an individual can then use to interpret new events. This is essentially important, for example, in the situation, when some company deals with complex problems like innovation. In that case decision-makers could rarely process
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Analytical overview
Topic: “Cognitive Maps”
Course: Knowledge Engineering
Author: Marina Borovkova
Group: FM.1
Saint-Petersburg
2011
Table of contents Introduction 3 Definition of Cognitive Mapping 4 History and Use of the Term 4 The Process of Cognitive Mapping 6 Different Types of Cognitive Map and Mapping Techniques 7 Cognitive mapping techniques 8 Causal mapping. 8 Semantic mapping 9 Concept mapping 10 Application of cognitive techniques and maps 11 Conclusion 13
Introduction
All of us face misunderstandings and perception discrepancies, but what is the reason? The visual environment, natural objects and human actions are interpreted differently by different people. Information in our brain about thing, events and notions is organized in some structural schemes called “cognitive maps”. They help us to systemize knowledge and easily extract it in the process of analyzing and interpretation of new, unknown events or things. It is meaningful to study how to understand, visualize and organize our cognitive maps. So the theme of cognitive mapping deserves attention and thoroughly research.
Definition of Cognitive Mapping
For understanding of the term “cognitive map” we should firstly define the meaning of “cognition”. From psychological point of view “cognition” refers to the mental models (belief systems), that people use to interpret, frame, simplify, and make sense of otherwise complex problems. These mental models are concerned in terms of cognitive maps, scripts, schema, and frames of reference. Such belief systems are built from past experiences and comprise internally represented concepts and relationships among concepts that an individual can then use to interpret new events. This is essentially important, for example, in the situation, when some company deals with complex problems like innovation. In that case decision-makers could rarely process
References: 1) Buzan T. (1993) “The Mind Map Book”// London: BBC Books; 2) Downs R., Stea D [ 10 ]. Buzan T. (1993) “The Mind Map Book”// London: BBC Books [ 11 ]