anitsh
commented
1 year ago Mental models are cross-cutting and also multi-level.
Potential pathway of failed implementation.
How to Use Mental Models in Overcoming Implementation Challenges
If we accept that mental models can have a powerful influence over whether implementation happens or not, or happens well and is sustained, it is helpful to know how to identify an individual or group's mental model and assess if these mental models are facilitating or serving as barriers to implementation.
Consider the use of an implementation science framework. The Practical, Robust, Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM) provides guidance regarding the contextual factors that influence the outcomes of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance (RE-AIM outcomes, which are part of PRISM).
How can you identify mental models? Overview of common mental model elicitation methods.
Method Description Considerations Survey A series of questions with a closed ended response format (e.g., Likert scale from 1 to 5) Efficient way to measure specific beliefs from a large group when one knows what the range of beliefs can be. Less suited for eliciting complex relationships in mental models. Models may have to be inferred. Forced choice A series of two-option choices presented to a participant, who is asked to choose one option over the other based on some criterion (e.g., preference, commonness, cost) Suitable for eliciting rank and order among a narrower set of beliefs known beforehand. Less suited for eliciting complex relationships in mental models. Card sort A task in which the participant is given a set of cards with concepts to arrange in a way that is meaningful to him, either according to some set criterion (e.g., causal relationships) or not. Suitable for eliciting grouping, sequencing, taxonomies, or processes. Cards can include images or be left blank for participants to fill in. Semi-structured interviews An interview in which a set of questions is prepared beforehand but can be deviated from opportunistically to learn more about the target topic. More accurate and complete representations of mental models. Can capture complex relationships, but is time-consuming, expensive, and requires skilled interviewers. Cognitive task analysis (47, 48) A specific type of interview designed to elicit mental model and macrocognitive processes Specifically designed to elicit and improve how teams function together in real world circumstances, but requires expert interviewers. Causal mapping (49) and dynamic system diagraming (50, 51) Mapping out causal relationships, feedback loops, and causal conditions/ or rules. More accurate and complete representations of causal relationships in mental models, but is time-consuming, expensive, and requires skilled interviewers. Delphi process Multi-phase process of eliciting beliefs from several individuals, synthesizing responses, and sending the synthesis back for feedback. Useful for building a shared mental model among non-co-located individuals and identifying points of disagreement. The process is slow and can be expensive (may need to pay experts). Observation Watching the performance of an individual or groups of individuals by an objective observer. Because only behavior is observed and cognitions are not elicited, beliefs need to be inferred, unless recorded and combined with retrospective think aloud (see below). Think aloud A process in which the participants explains aloud what she is thinking as she performs a task (concurrent) or watches a recording of herself performing a task (retrospective). Concurrent think aloud requires some practice by both the interviewer and participant and can sometimes interfere with the task. Elicits rich information about mental models in context. Synthesizing documents Using existing documents, such as reports of adverse events and near misses, to infer beliefs, and connections between beliefs. Mental models are inferred and verification would require an additional method.
What got you here won’t get you there. You need to unlearn certain principles and tactics so you can make room for better ones.
A common reason people stagnate is because they don’t update their mental models. We are prone to seeking things that confirm our existing beliefs. We relentlessly search for facts that support everything we think. But this leads us to nowhere. We simply stay in the same position. Never advancing.
A big part of thinking better is unlearning old mental models and replacing them with better ones.
Something that often happens in our daily life and as well in big organizations is that they hold to things they did for years. Never updating their views. That’s why the following is considered the most dangerous phrase in business: “We’ve always done it this way!”
But as smart folks say, “What got you here won’t get you there.”
Or if I can slightly change a quote from the great book Accelerated Expertise, your “learning thinking advances when flawed mental models are replaced, and is stable when a model is refined and gets harder to disconfirm.”
All of this requires abandoning/unlearning outdated concepts that you currently hold and replacing them with better ones. In the simplification of reality, creating a model can find a sense of reality, seeking to overcome systemic thinking and system dynamics.
These two disciplines can help to construct a better coordination with the reality of mental models and simulate it accurately. They increase the probability that the consequences of how to decide and act in accordance with how to plan.
After analyzing the basic characteristics, it is necessary to bring the process of changing the mental models, or the process of learning. Learning is a back-loop process, and feedback loops can be illustrated as: single-loop learning or double-loop learning.
Single-loop learning Mental models affect the way that people work with information, and also how they determine the final decision. The decision itself changes, but the mental models remain the same. It is the predominant method of learning, because it is very convenient.
Double-loop learning Double-loop learning is used when it is necessary to change the mental model on which a decision depends. Unlike single loops, this model includes a shift in understanding, from simple and static to broader and more dynamic, such as taking into account the changes in the surroundings and the need for expression changes in mental models.
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