8. Discourse on Method: Rapid, Efficient, Cost-Effective Creation of ‘Wikis of the Mind’

The study presents a process to create an integrated database of the mind concerning how people decide when presented with a topic or problem and combinations of metaphors representing solutions. The method uses an experimental design to create test combinations of solution statements (vignettes). The respondent evaluates different scenarios (or vignettes) created using the experimental design theory. Each vignette represents a metaphor for the solution to the problem, and it is presented to the respondent using a Likert scale. The data are then subject to OLS (ordinary least-square) regression at the level of the individual respondent to derive unique decision rules. Data mining and clustering technologies are used to group similar respondents into mindsets. The process is generalized so that the same experiment structure can be used for several dozen different problems. The process is illustrated by addressing 27 social issues and a set of 16 metaphors representing solutions.