The performance of laymen on tasks testing for knowledge of basic dynamics, such as the bathtub tasks, is consistently weak. There are some reports of beneficial effects of introductory courses in system dynamics or a strong mathematical background. This study investigates the effects of a system dynamics background beyond the introductory level, and strong mathematical background including courses in differential equations and control theory, on the strategies applied to, as well as performance in, the rabbits-and-foxes task. The task objective is to establish equilibrium in a predator-and-prey system. These well-educated participants performed no better than social science students. The strategies applied differed however, and the dynamic systems educated participants did not demonstrate as much misconceptions about the system as social science students have been found to do. The weak performance raises the question if there are better ways to develop a mature concept of equilibrium.

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Date created

• 2008 July 20-2008 July 24

Type

• Document

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• Processing documentation available at: https://wiki.albany.edu/display/SCA/Processing+Ingested+Digital+Files

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• Creative Commons BY-NC-ND Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International

  
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ITEM CONTEXT

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6cbae5a21467df4434abbc87da443217

Scope and Contents

Part of

ce498623f0349395d0a141a0525190a0

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Part of

23d738ba88f8333bc39725f9cb5bd0b8

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Collection

System Dynamic Society Records

Scope and Contents

Collecting area

• This collection is part of the University Archives