Searching for alternatives in spatial reasoning: Local transformations and beyond
Reinhold Rauh, Schlieder C Hagen C, Markus Knauff · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · 2000
Searching for alternative solutions of an indeterminate reasoning task is an important and necessary step in order to draw certain inferences as in the case of deduction.To elucidate the underlying mental representations and processes of the search for alternatives in spatial reasoning, an experiment was conducted that used specific material stemming from AI research of Qualitative Spatial Reasoning.The results showed that searching for alternative solutions can be best explained as a revision process starting with an initial mental model of the premises.Proceeding from one solution to an alternative is apparently achieved by local transformation.Interestingly, local transformations have a "logic of their own": They can lead to systematic errors of omission and to errors of commission. Spatial Reasoning and Mental ModelsDealing with spatial problems is a frequent and important challenge in everyday as well as in professional life.It occurs across various fields like spatial navigation or spatial configuration and design.In this paper, we will concentrate on a special sort of spatial problem solving, namely reasoning based on spatial relational descriptions.This type of reasoning can be investigated with recourse to several background theories of thinking developed in cognitive psychology.According to previous research in spatial reasoning (