mental space theory

Question 1

3 basic operations

Answer 1

1.identity=complex, imaginative, unconscious work. identity and opposition finished products provided to
consciousness after elaborative work

2.integration=elaborate
structural and dynamic
properties and
operational constraints,
but which typically goes
entirely unnoticed since
it works fast in the
backstage of cognition

3.imagination=even in the absence of external stimulus, the brain can run imaginative simulations

Question 2

mental spaces

Answer 2

-very partial assemblies constructed as we think and talk for the purpose of local understanding
-structured by frames and cognitive models and connected to LTM but operate in working memory
-frames are established mental spaces that we can activate all at once

Question 3

cognitive mappings

Answer 3

a variety of construction that involve analogy, metaphor etc set up multispace configurations with source, target, generic and blended spaces that project onto each other

Question 4

access principle

Answer 4

an expression which names an elem from one mental space can be used to refer to its counterpart in another mental space

Question 5

composition

Answer 5

-blending can compose from the input spaces to provide relations that do not exist in the separate inputs
-counterpart elem can be composed by being projected separately into the blend or by being projected into the same elem (fusion)

Question 6

completion

Answer 6

-open ended process
-background knowledge and structure that we bring into the blend uncounsciously
ex: pattern completion

Question 7

elaboration

Answer 7

-open ended process
-we elaborate blends by treating them as simulations and running them imaginatively according to the principles established by the blend

Question 8

vital relationships

Answer 8

change identity time space cause effect

Question 9

topology

Answer 9

set up the
blend and the inputs so that inner-space relations in the
blend reflect useful topology in the inputs and their outerspace relations

Question 10

pattern completion

Answer 10

complete elements in the blend by using existing
integrated patterns as additional inputs

Question 11

integration

Answer 11

.

Question 12

maximization of vital relationship

Answer 12

maximize the vital relations in the blended
space and reflect them in outer-space vital relations

Question 13

web principle

Answer 13

manipulating the blend as a unit must maintain the web of
appropriate connections to the input spaces easily and
without additional surveillance or computation

Question 14

unpacking principle

Answer 14

the blend all by itself should prompt for the reconstruction of
the entire network.

Question 15

relevance principle

Answer 15

outer-space relation
between the inputs that is important for the purpose of the
network should have a corresponding compression in the
blend.

Question 16

compression

Answer 16

achieve compressed blended spaces