Examining cognitive maps using distance ratios, performance evaluations and fuzzy consistency and coverage measures

Abstract

A growing body of literature has examined cognitive maps using various methods for different purposes in different situations. This study aims to elicit and scrutinize cognitive maps which are based on interpretations of strategic issues, and evaluate the performances of the teams who contributed to produce cognitive maps. The research analyzes 431 individual cognitive maps collected through a simulation study of decision making in groups of students. Different distance ratio (DR) measures are applied to quantify the cognitive diversity of maps. In the analytic framework, two hypothesis models are tested by establishing linguistic levels for DR and performance measures, and modeling those using fuzzy sets. Then, the relation between fuzzified DR and performance measures on linguistics transformation is examined by using fuzzy set-theoretic consistency, coverage measures. Additionally, the study proposes a histogram analysis approach to explore most critical strategic attributes and causal relations among them in the causal map. The results of the study provide evidence in favor of the existence of different levels of performances of the teams. Besides this, the study recognizes more important strategic issues on cognitive interpretation and more critical causal relations among them as they play a central role in the cognitive maps. Finally, concerning the results, we demonstrate how consistency, coverage and additional measures fit as providing reliable information for testing different level assumptions according to parameters in cognitive science. To the context of practical implication, the findings enhance the knowledge of the roles of strategic variables and their relations to each other in the cognitive maps.