Introduction

Based on the formal concept of knowledge structures originally proposed by Jean-Claude Falmagne and Jean-Paul Doignon, this book contains descriptions of methodological developments and experimental investigations as well as applications for various knowledge domains. The authors address three main topics:

• theoretical issues and extensions of Doignon & Falmagne's theory of knowledge structures;

• empirical validations of specific problem types and knowledge domains, such as sentence comprehension, problem solving in chess, inductive reasoning, elementary mathematical reasoning, and others;

• application of knowledge structures in various contexts, including knowledge assessment, intelligent tutoring systems, and motor learning.

Unlike most other approaches in the literature in cognitive psychology, this book provides both a rigorous mathematical formulation of knowledge-related psychological concepts and its empirical validation by experimental data.