Constructing causal scenarios: a knowledge structure approach to causal reasoning.

A model of causal reasoning based on Schank and Abelson's (1977) analysis of knowledge structures is presented. The first part of this article outlines the necessary characteristics of such a model. It is argued that a central attributional problem is to explain extended sequences of behavior. To do this people must relate actions in a sequence to one another and construct a coherent scenario from them. Because the relation among actions is not given, people must use detailed social and physical knowledge to make connecting inferences. The resulting scenario typically includes information about the plans and goals of the actor. The second part of this article analyzes how the knowledge structures outlined by Schank and Abelson (1977)--scripts, plans, goals, and themes--can be used to construct such causal scenarios, and it presents a process model for the construction of such scenarios. The last part of this article examines the implications of this model and its relations to other attribution models by Kelley (1967, 1971a, 1971b) and Jones (Jones & Davis, 1965; Jones & McGillis, 1976).