摘要：This collection of papers focuses on the application of methodsto elicit and analyze mental models or social representations,that is, representations of the world that are shared by socialgroups. Mental models represent the way in which peopleunderstand the world around them; they are the internalrepresentation of the external system. Mental models are thecognitive structure upon which reasoning, decision making,and behavior are based. However, importantly, mental modelsare models, and this means that they are incomplete, and theyare often inconsistent representations of reality. They are alsodynamic, i.e., they change over time, they are able to adapt tochanging circumstances, and may also evolve over timethrough learning. Currently there is much interest in mentalmodels in human-environment interactions and naturalresource management. Elucidating mental models helps us tounderstand and delineate different conceptualizations of howa system works: the interactions between factors orcomponents, the critical issues, and the causal links. Onlywhen we can effectively elucidate and analyze mental modelscan we begin to explore how they affect behavior. This in turnmight help to develop more appropriate managementstrategies within a given context. Studying mental models canhelp us to understand both individual conceptualizations andalso collective beliefs or representations. To date in naturalresource management the exploration of mental models hassought to assess the degree to which these conceptualizationsare internally coherent, i.e., the extent of their coherence withan external reality, and to explore alternative representations.A range of different methods and techniques have been used.The interest in mental models can be viewed as an intrinsicpart of more participatory approaches to environmentalgovernance and natural resource management currentlyunderway around the world
