Mathematical modelling has acquired relevance in different fields at an international level, both in education and research. This article states that, throughout the construction of the theoretical corpus of this mathematical process and competency -- among others -- two big issues have occurred: one of terminological nature since the definitions…

There is a popular hypothesis that performance on implicit and explicit memory tasks reflects 2 distinct memory systems. Explicit memory is said to store those experiences that can be consciously recollected, and implicit memory is said to store experiences and affect subsequent behavior but to be unavailable to conscious awareness. Although this…

In this study, we test an information-processing model (IPM) of problem solving in science education, namely the working memory overload model, by applying catastrophe theory. Changes in students' achievement were modeled as discontinuities within a cusp catastrophe model, where working memory capacity was implemented as asymmetry and the degree…

It is shown that, for equivalent structural equation models that have been extended to multigroup models, imposing cross-group equality constraints on no parameters, all parameters, or any number of parameters for which the models are identical preserves the model equivalence property. Results are illustrated with two-group cognitive intervention…

This paper identifies the need for a new theory of information and develops a mathematical model which distinguishes between: (1) data, as directly observable facts; (2) information, as structured collections of data; and (3) knowledge, as methods of using information. The model is based on the ideas of the binary relational model and uses the…

The use of analogy in human thinking is examined from the perspective of a multiconstraint theory that postulates similarity, structure, and purpose as three kinds of constraints. The theory has been implemented in computational simulations of the analogical human mind using the Analogical Mapping by Constraint Satisfaction (ACME) model. (SLD)

This theme issue features five articles profiling Indiana University faculty whose work on various campuses continues to broaden and advance knowledge about cognitive science. The articles in the journal are: "A Matter of Time" (Karen Grooms) which discusses the work of Robert F. Port; "Perceiving as a Complex System" (Tom…

Using general recognition theory, a new theory of similarity is developed, postulating that perceived similarity is determined by distributional overlap. This theory is related to existing theories of similarity. Three experiments using a total of 19 university students are presented, testing the empirical validity of the theory. (SLD)

Biases and models usually offered by cognitive and social psychology and by philosophy to explain causal induction are evaluated with respect to focal sets (contextually determined sets of events over which covariation is computed). A probabilistic contrast model is proposed as underlying covariation computation in natural causal induction. (SLD)

Switch costs in task switching are commonly attributed to an executive control process of task-set reconfiguration, particularly in studies involving the explicit task-cuing procedure. The authors propose an alternative account of explicitly cued performance that is based on 2 mechanisms: priming of cue encoding from residual activation of cues in…

This special issues describes multidimensional scaling (MDS), with emphasis on proximity and preference models. An introduction and six papers review statistical developments in MDS study design and scrutinize MDS research in four areas of application (consumer, social, cognitive, and vocational psychology). (SLD)

Multinomial modeling--a methodology that can be used to measure and study cognitive processes--is discussed, and applications are presented. This statistically based technique involves estimating hypothetical parameters that represent the probabilities of unobservable cognitive events and is compatible with computational theories of cognition.…

The feasibility of modeling performance on a three-dimensional rotation task within the context of item response theory was examined using 160 high school students. Eighty pairs of three-dimensional Shepard-Metzler figures were used. This approach to psychometric modeling, incorporating research results from cognitive science, appears workable.…

A method was developed using a deck of cards to teach Japanese fifth graders to calculate the area of a parallelogram. Investigations with 59 male and 45 female students demonstrate the superiority of the method to that previously used in terms of recall at one week. (SLD)