Mental Models in Children

Abstract

Excerpt Researchers in the area of child psychology have taken an interest in how children revise their understanding of the world. Stella Vosniadou and William Brewer (1991) postulated a theory called mental models, which provides insight into how genuine understanding is attained. The postulated mental models are created and then tested to build up one’s understanding of how the world works. Additionally, this theory implies there may be points in time where there is some understanding of a concept, yet it is still incomplete. Vosniadou and Brewer wanted to explore these intermediate mental models and develop evidence of understanding in progress. Experimen