Category: Publications

Authors:

Natalie A. Jones , Helen Ross , Timothy Lynam , Pascal Perez  and Anne Leitch

Published 2014.

Ecology and Society 19 (1):3.
Full Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06248-190113

Abstract

Mental models are personal, internal representations of external reality that people use to interact with the world around them. They are constructed by individuals based on their unique life experiences, perceptions, and understandings of the world. Mental models are used to reason and make decisions and can be the basis of individual behaviors. They provide the mechanism through which new information is filtered and stored. Recognizing and dealing with the plurality of stakeholder’s perceptions, values, and goals is currently considered a key aspect of effective natural resource management (NRM) practice. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of how mental models internally represent complex, dynamic systems and how these representations change over time will allow us to develop mechanisms to enhance effective management and use of natural resources. Realizing this potential, however, relies on developing and testing adequate tools and techniques to elicit these internal representations of the world effectively. This paper provides an interdisciplinary synthesis of the literature that has contributed to the theoretical development and practical application of the mental model construct. It explores the utility and applicability of the construct in the context of NRM and includes a review of elicitation techniques used within the field. The major theoretical and practical challenges that arise in drawing on the construct to provide a cognitive dimension to NRM are also addressed.

Co-authors

Helen Ross: Social dimensions in natural resource management 
Timothy Lynam: Social change
Pascal Perez: Agent-based models and participatory modeling
Anne Leitch: communication specialist

Published 2012.

Ecology and Society 17(3):23.
Full article http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-05118-170323

Part of a special Ecology and Society feature on Mental models in human – environment interactions: Theory, policy implications, and methodological explorations

Authors:

Timothy Lynam, Raphael Mathevet , Michel Etienne , Samantha Stone-Jovicich , Anne Leitch, Natalie Jones , Helen Ross , Derick Du Toit , Sharon Pollard , Harry Biggs and Pascal Perez

Abstract:

Although the broad concept of mental models is gaining currency as a way to explore the link between how people think and interact with their world, this concept is limited by a theoretical and practical understanding of how it can be applied in the study of human-environment relationships. Tools and processes are needed to be able to elicit and analyze mental models. Because mental models are not directly observable, it is also important to understand how the application of any tools and processes affects what is measured. Equally important are the needs to be clear on the intent of the elicitation and to design the methods and choose the settings accordingly. Through this special edition, we explore how mental models are elicited using two approaches applied in two case-study regions. We analyze two approaches used in the Crocodile River catchment of South Africa: a graphically based approach, i.e., actors, resources, dynamics, and interactions (ARDI); and an interview- or text-based approach, i.e., consensus analysis (CA). A further experiment in the Rhone Delta (Camargue), France, enabled us to test a cross-over between these two methods using ARDI methodology to collect data and CA to analyse it. Here, we compare and explore the limitations and challenges in applying these two methods in context and conclude that they have much to offer when used singly or in combination. We first develop a conceptual framework as a synthesis of key social and cognitive psychology literature. We then use this framework to guide the enquiry into the key lessons emerging from the comparative application of these approaches to eliciting mental models in the two case regions. We identify key gaps in our knowledge and suggest important research questions that remain to be addressed.

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol17/iss3/art23/