Craik, K. (1943). Hypothesis on the nature of thought. In The Nature of Explanation (pp. 50–61).

Summary

Craik was one of the first modern psychologists to explicitly propose the idea of having a generative model of the world. There are two main points that he makes.

First, the mind uses a different representation than either sensory/motor inputs or outputs. There are “three essential processes” which consist of translation of external stimuli into symbols, processing of these symbols into other symbols, and retranslation of the new symbols into a new external representation (such as action).

Second, te way that we process symbols is by using a “model”, which he defines in relation to real, physical processes in the world. As in the famous quote that everybody likes to use:

If the organism carries a ‘small-scale model’ of external reality and of its own possible actions within its head, it is able to try out various alternatives, conclude which is the best of them, react to future situations before they arise, utilise the knowledge of past events in dealing with the present and future, and in every way react in a much fuller, safer, and more competent manner to the emergencies which face it. (pg. 61)

Craik seems to think that such a model is more reliable than what it probably actually is (“we can, for instance, design a bridge in our minds and know that it will bear a train passing over it instead of having to conduct a number of full-scale experiments”, pg. 59), but the core idea is an important one. By having a model of reality, we can make predictions about reality that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to make, because reality is too complicated.