Object-Oriented Approaches to Causal Mapping: A Proposal

Abstract

Comparing, contrasting, and collectivizing causal maps provides a useful way for extending representations of individual-level cognitions to an organization-level of analysis. Carrying out these processes can be tricky, however, because the terms used to denote nodes within causal maps are often so terse that important nuances and meanings critical to linking or distinguishing the espoused beliefs of multiple individuals may not be faithfully represented. Previous efforts in causal map research are extended by representing these linguistic and semantic nuances in associative, categorical, or other cognitive maps, then using those maps to link related elements of causal maps. These multiple types of cognitive maps are then integrated in a logical view (i.e., class and object structures) of a graph-theoretic, object-oriented design.