THE COGNITIVE-PSYCHOLOGY OF SYSTEMS THINKING

This article describes how established research methods in cognitive p sychology can be applied to answer questions about the ability of syst ems thinking interventions to improve the nature and quality of though t about complex systems. The need for and advantages of controlled exp erimental research on the effects of interventions on mental models an d cognitive processes, as well as the limitations of current assessmen t practices, are discussed. An agenda for collaborative research betwe en cognitive psychologists and researchers interested in dynamic syste ms, covering the areas of memory, analogical transfer, mental models, decision processes, human-computer interaction, and expertise, is outl ined in detail. The article concludes with a discussion of the difficu lties and long-term advantages of conducting the described research. ( C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.